On February 6, 2026, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, confirmed Ukraine had initiated a counterattack near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia region, according to the UK Defense Intelligence.
Since the start of this counterattack, Ukraine has taken over 100 sq km of territory, mostly to the north of Huliaipole. In addition, Ukrainian forces also made limited gains to the north of this sector, most notably in the vicinity of Verbove, 14 km southeast of Pokrovske.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: russia Traps Ukrainian Children with Passport Law in Temporarily Occupied Territories
It is likely these efforts have disrupted russian momentum and delayed russian offensive operations towards Orikhiv city from the east. Orikhiv is an important fortified logistics hub, underpinning the defence of central Zaporizhzhia.
Further north, Ukrainian forces maintain control of the city of Kupiansk, a former rail logistics hub in Kharkiv oblast, securing the boundaries to mitigate against continued russian infiltration attempts. Limited numbers of russian infiltrators are reported to remain in the city, occupying high rise buildings. Ukrainian forces commenced their counter-attack in the northwest quadrant of Kupiansk in mid-December 2025.
As Defense Express previously reported, the average daily russian casualty rate during January 2026 was 1,023 according to Ukrainian General Staff reporting, a moderate decrease from 1,130 in December 2025. This follows four consecutive monthly increases in the average daily casualty rate from August 2025 to December 2025.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: russian Daily Casualties Fall to 1,023 in January After December Peak
