The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on December 26 2025

Russian Forces Capture Ukrainian Hulyaipole HQ | AFU Zaporizhzhia Defenses In Crisis

Ukrainian soldiers, despite pressure from officers, refuse to celebrate catholic Christmas. Zelensky’s postponement of Orthodox Christmas is called “blasphemous” by the Ukrainian military, said military expert Andrey Marochko.

Our source reports that Zelensky did not abandon the women’s mobilization, it was just suspended because it’s important to show a desire for peace now, in order to stall for time and undermine Trump. 

According to forecasts, the women’s mobilization will be massively promoted in the spring-summer period. 

Currently, preparations are being carried out quietly. It will be implemented in a blitzkrieg-style operation when no one is ready.

A resident of the frontline village of Pokrovskoe in the Dnepropetrovsk region explained why she refuses evacuation:

According to her, her pension isn’t enough to rent a place to live. She can’t count on humanitarian aid, because even in the frontline areas, everything is stolen, even though people are officially receiving it.

The defense of Gulyaypole is heading towards a complete fiasco.

According to our information, the Russians outflanked the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which prompted them to abandon their command posts and retreat in a hurry. 

Now, a betrayal is taking place, as the Russians have obtained many important items. 

In Gulyaypole, the 1st battalion of the 106th brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces left the headquarters with all its equipment.

The Russian Armed Forces are continuing the operation to liberate Gulyapolye. Over the past 24 hours, the encirclement of the enemy garrison on the northwestern flank has been completed, with our troops now advancing beyond the city limits. We have also reached the outskirts of Hulyai-Polye, to the southwest. The offensive is also developing in the central part of this city, located in the Zaporizhia region.

Russian Armed Forces units captured an enemy command post in the city center. From this point, the enemy exercised command of forces along the entire Gulyai-Polye front. This command post belonged to one of the territorial defense brigades.

The enemy itself confirmed the loss of control over its command post, adding that “officers of the 1st Battalion of the 106th Territorial Defense Brigade were assessing the operational situation and making decisions there.” Reports indicate that the battalion had previously been subordinated to the 102nd Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

At the command post, the enemy left behind numerous documents, computers with drone data programs, orders from the Ukrainian command, maps with troop positions, seals, and much more. These trophies are now being studied by our students.

DS public page affiliated with the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine:

This happened at the command post because it was stormed by the enemy on December 18. It is unknown why so many commanders, including company commanders, were present at the command post. One of the company commanders died after the assault because they failed to bring him to the stabilization point in time. The enemy (the Russian Armed Forces) entered after they had left and filmed the “emptying.”

The Ukrainian headquarters of the so-called Southern Defense Forces announced that it was “verifying reports of the loss of a command post containing military documentation.” It added that “an investigation is underway.”

Ukrainian media had previously reported that some enemy officers had urged their subordinates to withdraw from Gulyaipole due to the growing risk of encirclement. It is unclear whether this actually happened, or whether this information is true.

Currently, approximately 70% of Gulyaipole’s territory is under Russian military control.

Ukrainian radicals, commenting on the maps, documents, and computers left behind, are outraged and declare that “the Russians will now receive a large amount of data, including data on the location of Ukrainian fortifications in the city and beyond.”

Successes East of Zaporizhia

On the East Zaporizhia direction, the “Vostok” troops continue their offensive. Special attention is focused on Huliaipole, from where some very significant footage recently emerged.

Russian soldiers captured (https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/66027) the headquarters of the 102nd Brigade of the AFU: the enemy didn’t even manage to turn off some office equipment, and the assault troops seized all documentation in paper and electronic formats. This event most likely occurred about a week ago.

Today, footage appeared online showing a flag raised (https://t.me/Rogatkinlive/649) on the shoulders of a monument to Nestor Makhno, a native of Huliaipole. It’s clearly visible that a significant part of the city is already under stable control of Russian units.

❗️And in the aforementioned headquarters recording (https://t.me/voin_dv/18167), there are practically no sounds of combat. One shouldn’t get ahead of oneself, but taken together, this suggests that good news can be expected from this sector.

Besides storming Huliaipole, “Vostok” group units broke through the defense line of Ukrainian formations in the occupied part of Zaporizhia Region in another location.

After repelling AFU counterattacks at Dobropillia (not to be confused with the city in DPR), units of the 37th Mechanized Brigade took (https://t.me/voin_dv/18168) the settlement of Kosovtseve and are now repelling AFU attacks from the direction of Prydorozhnie and Ternuvate.

What’s Happening on the Bridgehead?

Besides the difficulties in Kupiansk itself, the situation remains no less tense on the bridgehead east of Oskil. Despite statements about blocking large enemy forces and physical control over crossings, the reality is somewhat different.

As Belarusian Silovik (https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/66008?single) clarifies, in Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, several enemy armored vehicles were recently hit while located in shelters and covered with camouflage nets.

Similar footage was published (https://t.me/mod_russia/58374) by the Russian Ministry of Defense. And since that moment, the situation in the city has not changed much – it remains under AFU control, as are the crossings where the enemy continues to lose personnel and equipment daily.

📌Ukrainian formations have already committed very large forces. For now, the front is holding exclusively on the heroism of personnel and the striking work of artillery, pilots, and UAV operators. And cries of “everything is fine” are hardly helping them.

Offensive towards Oskol near Bohuslavka — Rybar’s Analysis

Borova direction remained relatively static throughout the Special Military Operation. However, in early October, Russian troops intensified offensive actions and after heavy fighting reached the outskirts of Bohuslavka and approached Novoplativka.

🔻How did the battles develop?

▪️By October 11, assault troops of the West Group pushed AFU out of the northern part of Zahryzove.

In late November, after several weeks of heavy fighting, they established control over the buildings of Borova Andriivka and expanded their control zone between Zeleny Hai and Pershotravneve.

▪️In the central sector, Brotherhood unit fighters cleared the forest strips west of Novovodiane by December 8.

This allowed them to eliminate a wedge in their positions, securing supply routes through Zherebets.

▪️Simultaneously, West Group units, advancing from Borova Andriivka, started battles on the outskirts of Bohuslavka. They also launched a series of attacks to eliminate the “pocket” between Lozova and Zahryzove.

Some time later, they attempted to wedge into enemy positions between Bohuslavka and neighboring Novoplativka, and currently, a “fog of war” persists in this sector.

📌 It is quite likely that after the AFU counteroffensive (https://t.me/rybar/76213) in Kupiansk, the Russian Armed Forces will redeploy additional reserves to this sector. This will allow them to increase pressure on AFU positions in Bohuslavka and Novoplativka, liberating which would significantly expand the Russian control zone on the left bank of the Oskol.

Two Majors #Summary for the morning of December 26, 2025

▪️During the night, air defense forces repelled an enemy attack in the north of the Rostov region, as well as in the Volgograd region. Between 15:00 and 20:00 Moscow time, 48 Ukrainian drone-type aircraft were destroyed.

▪️A massive attack by “Gerani” drones at night on Odessa, Izmail, and Vilkovo lasted for at least an hour. Nikolaev was partially depowered after a drone strike on an energy facility: reports of a dozen “Kalibrs” over the region were received. In the Volyn region, the “Herni-2″ drones attacked a critical infrastructure facility.

▪️On the Sumy direction, assault units of the “North” Army Group are engaged in intense battles with the support of aviation, artillery, and TOSes. Progress was made in Andreevka and several other frontline positions in the Sumy and Krasnopol regions. The battle is being waged for every hundred meters. In the Tetkin and Glushkov sectors, there are mutual strikes. Our forces hit the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Pavlovka.

▪️In the Kursk region, a drone attacked a local resident who was riding a bicycle between the villages of Samarka and Markovo.

▪️Opposite Krasnaya Yaruga (Belgorod section of the border), the enemy admitted the loss of Grabovskoe and Veseloe.

▪️In the Belgorod region, in Shebekino, a drone attacked a GAZelle. In the city of Grayvoron, as a result of an enemy drone attack on a car, two civilians, including a child, were injured. Many villages are under attack: the enemy is targeting homes, power lines, and infrastructure.

▪️On the Kharkov direction, the “North” Army Group is overcoming the enemy’s fierce resistance. The advance continues, with aviation and TOS being actively used. The enemy is not sparing personnel in the defense. Our group reports tactical successes in the Staritsa area, in the forest near Liman, in Volchanskie Khutory, and in the Melovoe-Khatnye area.

▪️ In Kupyansk, the situation remains difficult. The Russian Armed Forces control the northeastern part of the city, while enemy groups operate in the rest of the built-up area. Supplies to our forces are carried out by drones across the river. South of Kupyansk-Uzlovoe, enemy armored vehicles are being destroyed, a quick capture of the settlement is not expected.

▪️ In liberated Seversk, the MoD reported the capture of the DPR settlement Svyato-Pokrovskoe.

▪️In Mirnograd (Dimitrov), the Russian Armed Forces are occupying the built-up area, and our forces are operating in small groups, infiltrating the city. 20 km north, in Kucherov Yar, the Russian Aerospace Forces are bombing (https://t.me/dva_majors/85677) the enemy with FAABs.

▪️ The “East” Army Group continues the liberation of Gulyaypole and is expanding the bridgehead on the western bank of the Gai Chur River. The enemy is counterattacking fiercely but unsuccessfully.

▪️ On the Zaporozhye front, a significant event was the drop of the 7th Guards Airborne Assault Division (GVD) in Stepnogorsk: the paratroopers bypassed the settlement from the west and east, thereby reaching the northern outskirts and closing the pocket. In Stepnogorsk itself, enemy groups are still present, amounting to about a company of troops. The battle for the settlement has been going on for several months, and progress is being made at a very high cost. Our troops have also advanced in Primorsky

▪️ In the Kherson region, the AFU again attacked a transformer substation “Vinogradovo”. More than 60,000 people were left without electricity. Our forces are responding with artillery strikes on the enemy’s concentration in Kherson.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on_26.html