Ukraine has recaptured more than a dozen towns in the Donbas region, including Sviatohirsk, days after Vladimir Putin claimed Russian forces held the area. The offensive has been described as Ukraine's 'most important attack of the year' by military analysts reviewing open-source intelligence (OSINT).
Analysts believe Ukrainian forces have secured 77 square miles of territory following an advance near a town Putin confidently said was in Russian hands. On September 1, Putin said generals told him they had captured 14 towns in the Donbas, 'including… as of yesterday, the town of Sviatohirsk'.
Ukrainian commander walks through recaptured town
OSINT experts say Ukrainian forces have recaptured the area, with a video showing a Ukrainian commander walking through what was once Russian-held soil. In the footage, posted a few days after Putin's claims, Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, strolls through the streets of Sviatohirsk and says: "Take off your clown noses and colourful wigs. There aren't any Russian soldiers here."
The attack has been described as the 'most important' of 2026 by Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst and co-founder of the Black Bird Group.
Drone footage went dark before advance
OSINT experts first realised Ukraine was on the march after drone footage disappeared in the area, according to Phil Cowin, from the UA Control Map group. "Usually you'd see more drone footage, more video," he said. "But suddenly around Nove it goes dark – and the Russians weren't posting any footage of their own attacks as they didn't want to show the Ukrainians advancing."
Reportedly, pro-Russian bloggers have blamed the retreat on decisions made by Russian commanders on the ground in the Donbas, rather than by the Kremlin directly.
Drone strike near Polish border after diplomatic train departs
The news comes hours after a Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday (September 13), shortly after senior visiting officials – including the former prime ministers of the U.K. and Sweden – passed through, Ukraine's state rail operator said. According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule. The visitors were on their way back from a security conference in Kyiv.
"It is highly probable that the Russian drone's intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled," the company said in a Telegram post.
