I worked in southern Ukraine. Here are a few key takeaways from the 2026 ‘counteroffensive.’

1/ “We advanced roughly 10 kilometers into enemy defenses,” says “Lawyer,” deputy commander of the 3rd battalion of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade. 2/ One of the key factors behind the success was surprise.

“What helped us? Deception — that’s number one. Second — keeping all movements and the start of assault actions secret. Third — switching off Starlink. That also helped us a lot,” says “Lev,” a battalion commander.

Stas is seven years old. He lives in Bakhmut. I asked him what he dreams about. He told me he wishes the war was over. Answering your questions, his mother doesn't want to leave because she says she has no place to go to.

In Kherson, I talked to four men abducted and tortured by the Russians. Their stories reveal that torture is becoming more systematic and carried out predominantly by the FSB.

hromadske.ua/en/posts/he-wa… In the Kyiv region,war crimes were committed mostly by the military. In Kherson,survivors identified those who tortured them as FSB officers. In Kyiv, the atrocities were chaotic.People were killed even outdoors. In Kherson and Kharkiv regions, the Russians used torture chambers