Ukrainian forces are under significant troop shortage pressure in the south.
Ukrainian forces are under increasing pressure in the south, where units are dwindling in numbers and are less well-equipped.
According to CNN, an officer from the Ukrainian security agency (SBU) said that the situation in the southern region is "very tense."
"The enemy is trying to advance quickly," said the officer codenamed "Bankir," using small groups of infantry "attempting to break through by any means to the weakest defensive positions."
Most of the recent fighting has taken place in and around the town of Huliaipole. Huliaipole is located about 80 km east of the regional capital Zaporizhzhia and had a population of over 700,000 before the conflict.
The unofficial news site DeepState, reporting on the conflicts in Ukraine, stated on December 29, 2025, that Ukrainian troops continue to hold their positions in some areas of Huliaipole, but the area is now a "gray zone," with Russian forces outnumbering them significantly. DeepState said that consolidating positions in the town is difficult due to the low-lying terrain. Ukrainian troops are heavily using drones in areas lacking infantry.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, admitted that the territorial brigade "could not withstand the enemy pressure throughout the fighting" and gradually retreated.
According to another independent monitoring organization, the Conflict Intelligence Group (CIT), "Ukrainian forces may only be present in the western part of Huliaipole." "Under these conditions, Huliaipole, like Pokrovsk, may have been effectively controlled," the organization stated.
According to CNN, what happened at Huliaipole clearly illustrates the predicament of the Ukrainian army. Many commentators argue that the Ukrainian army is outnumbered along several sections of the 1,000-kilometer front line and is struggling to mobilize additional forces to compensate for losses.
"That means commanders have to make difficult choices about where to attack, where to defend, and hope that the Russians won't exploit any gaps in Ukraine's defenses," analyst David Axe noted. Therefore, it's unrealistic to expect a few reserve battalions to withstand a Russian mechanized infantry brigade, especially if the reserves lack strong support from nearby artillery and drone units, Axe added.
The lack of a unified command structure among Ukrainian forces in the south and the decision to prioritize the defense of other areas such as Pokrovsk and Kupyansk may also have contributed to the worsening situation in the south.
