Over four years of the full‑scale war against Ukraine, the Kremlin still has not achieved the declared goals of the "special military operation", including control over the Donetsk region.One should not divide the Russian offensive by seasons at all. The Russian army continues to apply pressure on the positions of Ukraine’s Defense Forces. The point, however, is that in August the advance into Ukrainian territory was half as large as in previous months. And the Russian losses are comparable to the losses at the time of the maximum advance of the invading Russian forces, which date back to November 2024."For comparison: in November 2024 the advance into Ukrainian territory was about 750 km. At the moment — no more than 300 sq. km. And losses — at the level of 35,000 in a single month. These are tremendous successes of Ukraine’s Defense Forces."In addition, nearly 33% of the territory of the Donetsk region is now under the control of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.I should note that the intensification of the enemy’s offensive in Donetsk coincided with the start of negotiation processes, in particular Putin’s meeting with the U.S. president in Alaska. In this way the occupying country tried to demonstrate that there was no point in conducting political negotiations, since the Russian army could seize the Donetsk region by military means. That was the main goal of their offensive. There was, in fact, a threat of a breakthrough to operational depth. Official figures spoke of advances of 10–12 km. The information published by Bild about enemy advances up to 18 km, which was picked up by Ukrainian media, did not correspond to reality.Thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian servicemen, the situation is now stabilized. Measures are being taken to prevent further advance by the occupiers.For the Russian army this offensive had not only a political, but also a military meaning. The Kremlin attempted to take control of a number of key populated areas, creating the threat of an operational encirclement — not only in the Pokrovsk area but also near Myrnohrad and Dobropillia.Thanks to the redeployment of operational reserves, Ukrainian forces managed to stabilize the situation. The Russian enemy suffered serious losses: more than a thousand troops eliminated (killed) and about fifty taken prisoner. This indicates significant personnel losses among the occupiers.An important point was that during Ukrainian counterattacks part of the enemy’s assault groups found themselves in an operational encirclement. These units were effectively cut off from logistical support, evacuation of the wounded, and supplies of ammunition and food."However, the emphasis should be on the fact that not only the summer offensive of the Russian army, but the so‑called "special military operation" as a whole has effectively failed."After four years of active hostilities, the Russians have not even fulfilled the intermediate tasks of the so‑called "special military operation". Its main task was to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region. Therefore, to speak of the failure of the Russians’ summer offensive amid the fiasco of the entire so‑called special military operation is at least inaccurate. It is worth noting that the occupying army has now begun to lose territories it had earlier captured.I will point out a very telling example of how Russian media report the successes of the Russian army. On June 30 Russian propaganda media reported that Russian forces had completely "liberated" the territory of the so‑called "LPR." By August 30 the same media reported that the Russian army had "liberated" 99.7% of the territory of the so‑called "LPR." The loss of even 0.3% of the territory in two months indicates successful counteroffensive actions by Ukraine’s Defense Forces. So today it cannot be said that the occupying army controls the whole territory of the Luhansk region. Yes, there are tactical advances in several sectors — for example on the Lyman front, where part of the territory is in the Luhansk region. But the main indicator is the Defense Forces’ control over key industrial areas of Donetsk region.That is why, in my view, the political leadership of the occupying country is floating the idea of so‑called territorial exchanges — that is, exchanging territories of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions for the withdrawal of Ukraine’s Defense Forces from the Donetsk region.As reported earlier, the Russian army’s seasonal offensive campaign ended in nothing. This was how the Ukrainian General Staff reacted to the report by the occupying forces’ leadership about the allegedly successful results of the spring‑summer 2025 campaign.Specially for EspresoAbout the author. Dmytro Sniehyrov, military expert, co‑chair of the NGO Prava Sprava.The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by blog authors.