Ukraine's offensive actions outnumbered Russia's for first time on May 14, army commander Syrskyi says
Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out more offensive actions than Russian troops for the first time on May 14, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with Militarnyi, describing it as a meaningful shift in battlefield dynamics driven by sustained strikes on Russian personnel.
"The intensity and number of combat actions on their side has decreased. The number of offensive and counterattack actions on our side has increased," Syrskyi said. "For example, the past day [May 14] was notable in that the number of our offensive actions exceeded the number of offensive actions by the enemy for the first time."
Syrskyi said the sustained destruction of Russian army manpower is directly affecting Russia's ability to maintain the intensity of its assault operations — a shift he described as not merely containing Russian attacks, but changing the dynamics of combat on certain sections of the front.
He cautioned, however, that Russian forces remain a serious threat and continue to mass troops on key axes.
"You cannot let your guard down, because the enemy is strong. On the Pokrovsk axis, they have concentrated nearly 99,000 personnel — the largest grouping they have anywhere along the front," Syrskyi said.
Speaking at a Ukraine-NATO Council session, Syrskyi said total Russian losses since the start of 2026 have exceeded 141,500 troops, of whom more than 83,000 are irreversible casualties.
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