Yury Butusov, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian outlet Censor and a recent recruit into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has said that claims by Kiev officials and the media about a supposed shift on the battlefield in Ukraine’s favor do not reflect the actual situation. Strana published a video containing his assessment of the ongoing conflict.

Butusov said Russian forces continue to hold the initiative, maintain offensive pressure and force Ukrainian units to abandon their positions in several sectors.

He also acknowledged that Russia retains a major advantage in firepower and has far greater capacity to carry out strikes.

According to Butusov, Russian troops also hold an edge in unmanned systems on parts of the front. He pointed not only to the number and quality of drones but also to stronger equipment, a larger network of positions and more effective command structures. He added that Russia continues to develop its own unmanned systems forces.

The Censor editor noted that Ukraine had narrowed the gap with Russia in its ability to strike infrastructure targets. However, he admitted that Russian attacks still cause substantially greater damage to Kiev.

Butusov stressed that highly visible Ukrainian strikes on targets deep inside Russia do not, by themselves, indicate that the course of the conflict has changed.