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Ukraine Recaptured Territory in Two Key Battlefronts: ISW

Newsweek 2025/2/8

Kyiv's forces have recaptured lost positions in two parts of Ukraine's Donetsk region, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said as a map shows the latest state of play along the frontline.

The Washington, D.C. think tank said on Sunday that both sides had made gains, with geolocated footage showing Kyiv had regained positions to the southwest of Toretsk as well as towards Chasiv Yar.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

Russian forces have maintained the momentum along much of the front, albeit at high personnel losses and a push by Kyiv to regain territory could provide leverage for talks ahead of the inauguration of President Donald Trump amid his predictions he can force a swift end to the war.

What To Know

In its update on Sunday, the ISW said amid gains by both sides in the Toretsk direction, Ukraine had recaptured lost positions in southern Shcherbynivka, to the southwest of Toretsk.

However, the ISW said that Russian forces had advanced on the territory of the Toretska Mine to the north of the city with Russian sources making unverified claims that Moscow had seized half of that mine and advanced near Tsentralna Mine in central Toretsk.

The think tank said both sides had also advanced in Chasiv Yar, whose location on a hill overlooking the road towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk makes it a strategic target for Moscow's bid to control the whole of the Donetsk oblast.

It said that geolocated footage showed that Ukrainian forces had regained lost positions in the Refractory Plant in central Chasiv Yar, although Russian forces had also made their own gains in the west of the city and had captured two of its districts.

Ukraine's Luhansk Group of Forces spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Zaporozhets said on Saturday that Kyiv's forces had repelled Russian small and medium-sized assaults on the grounds of the Refractory Plant.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian analytical project DeepState reported that Kyiv's forces had regained positions in Zelenivka in the Donetsk Oblast as well as in Makhnovka in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Russia.

Ukrainian soldier near Toretsk.
This illustrative image from November 11, 2024, shows a Ukrainian soldier near Toretsk. Ukrainian forces have been making gains towards the town in the Donetsk region, the Institute for the Study of War said on...

What People Are Saying

Institute for the Study of War said on January 19: "Geolocated footage published on January 18 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions in the Refractory Plant in central Chasiv Yar."

Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told TSN on January 19: "We have needs at the front. We must increase the number of personnel in our mechanized brigades."

What Happens Next

Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has warned that the current mobilization efforts are no enough to replenish forces. This will pose an issue for Kyiv as both sides try to gain the upper hand in Donetsk ahead of possible peace talks which could be pushed by Trump.

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