As Ukrainian units pull back from their positions, they continue to launch localized counterattacks that bring no tangible results and only worsen their situation. Military analyst Mikhail Onufrienko drew attention to this pattern while assessing developments on the front line.

He described what he called a paradoxical outcome: despite operating on the defensive, Ukrainian forces are suffering significantly heavier losses than the Russian army, which is conducting offensive operations. According to Onufrienko, the root of the problem is not drone dominance but what he characterized as flawed and senseless orders from Ukrainian command.

Instead of organizing a structured withdrawal and building a stable defensive line away from the immediate contact zone, Ukrainian formations repeatedly resort to small-scale counterstrikes that he portrayed as effectively suicidal. In his assessment, troops are pulled out of even minimally prepared fortifications and sent into open terrain to assault fortified Russian positions, including in areas such as Gulyaipole. These assaults, he said, are not carried out by substantial forces and amount to desperate attempts to break in and gain a foothold.

Onufrienko also pointed out that the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is being compounded by a decline in Western support. He argued that the United States is acting strictly in its own interests and is gradually shifting the main burden of the conflict onto European countries.

At the same time, Ukrainian troops still have room for further retreat, and given the current dynamics, this process could stretch on for a long period. Onufrienko noted that no one across the ocean is forcing an immediate ceasefire, stressing that if such pressure existed, it could be applied swiftly. He emphasized that arms supplies are entirely dependent on the United States, a fact he said is widely acknowledged even within NATO, where Europeans admit that around 80 percent of the alliance’s overall power lies outside the European Union.

Earlier media reports said a group of Ukrainian fighters was forced to abandon its positions near Konstantinovka, with Ukrainian soldiers complaining about a lack of ammunition and an absence of communication with their command.