11:57 28-11-2025

Report: Ukrainian Front Near Gulyaypole Collapsing

Experts report collapsing Ukrainian defenses near Gulyaypole, citing mass retreats, friendly fire incidents and the capture of elite UAV operators by Russian forces.

Military experts closely monitoring the situation in the Zaporozhye region say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defenses near Gulyaypole are deteriorating much faster than expected. Several Western outlets are also reporting that the situation is nearing a critical point. According to these sources, as well as Russian analysts, some Ukrainian units have begun refusing to follow commanders' orders and are abandoning their positions on their own.

The Telegram channel Ukraina.ru reported that entire companies, unable to make sense of the commands they received, were withdrawing en masse from the areas of Zeleny Gay and Vysokoye. The level of chaos, according to these claims, was so severe that incidents of friendly fire were recorded.

The degree of disarray on the Zaporozhye front is further illustrated by an episode in which Russian special forces managed to move through Ukrainian rear lines, capture four elite UAV operators and extract them safely. The day before, five more Ukrainian fighters were reportedly taken prisoner west of Zeleny Gay.

Military expert Aleksandr Ivanovsky described the capture of four drone operators as a significant success for Russian special forces. He explained that such specialists are typically protected by well-trained fighters because skilled UAV pilots are considered «a scarce resource." In terms of combat capabilities, he noted, a single experienced operator can be compared — if the analogy is appropriate — to an artillery crew. Ivanovsky added that Russian counterintelligence would certainly have many questions for the captured pilots.

According to the information he currently possesses, the collapse of Ukrainian defenses began when one of the territorial defense battalions abruptly abandoned its positions, fearing a Russian breakthrough. Ivanovsky said the commanders fled first, and the soldiers, following their officers, abandoned their trenches and attempted to retreat.