Ukraine’s Defense Forces foil Russia’s plans to defeat Ukraine in 2025 – CinC Syrskyi

In 2025, Russia sought to end the war by defeating Ukraine, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces prevented critical enemy breakthroughs and thwarted those plans.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

“The year that has passed was a major test for us. The Russian aggressor sought to end the war against Ukraine – but planned to do so by crushing us and imposing its terms from a position of strength. They tried to seize the remaining territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, the right bank of the Kherson region, and intended to reach Odesa in order to completely cut us off from the sea. We did not allow critical breakthroughs by the enemy, disrupted their plans, and repeatedly forced them to postpone the timelines of theirits planned operations. We stood firm,” Syrskyi emphasized.

He noted that this was made possible because Ukrainian soldiers operated at the limit of their capabilities, with full dedication, inflicting maximum losses on the invaders and reducing the enemy army over the year by more than 418,000 killed and wounded.

“Thanks to the effective combat operations of the Defense Forces, the enemy has for a long time been unable to build up its forces – as each month we eliminate more Russian soldiers than the aggressor state is able to conscript. At the same time, during 2025 we managed to reduce our own personnel losses by 13%,” the Commander-in-Chief stated.

According to him, the year proved that the Ukrainian army is capable of systematically wearing down the enemy and significantly reducing their potential. “The Defense Forces prevented the aggressor from implementing its plans, preserved strategic positions, and laid the groundwork for further actions,” Syrskyi stressed.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that during December 2025 and early January 2026, Russian invaders carried out six massive missile-and-drone strikes against Ukraine.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine