Ukrainian paratroopers and assault units have pushed into the so-called "kill zone" - a stretch of camouflaged infantry positions in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions where any movement can trigger drone strikes - and cleared several settlements over the past month.
The operation, which kicked off in early February, has been hailed by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's top military commanders as proof of the country's resilience four years into the full-scale war, "Hvylya" reports, citing the Financial Times.
Major General Oleksandr Komarenko of Ukraine's general staff said his forces had "liberated almost the entire territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region" previously held by Russian troops. Zelensky, after visiting the eastern front, said Ukraine had "restored control over somewhere around 400-435 sq km."
The Kyiv-based Centre for Defence Strategies said the operation "denied Russian forces the jumping-off positions from which they intend to launch the summer campaign." A similar push late last autumn - carefully planned and initially kept out of media reports - reversed significant Russian gains in the Kharkiv region.
Military analyst Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute said the advance "demonstrated that Ukraine can still conduct successful offensive operations, even with relatively few infantry." Ukrainian troops also took advantage of Elon Musk's decision to deny Russian forces access to the Starlink satellite service.
Footage released last week showed soldiers from the 425th assault regiment fighting in the snowy ruins of Ternove - a village that the DeepState war-tracking project mapped a month ago some 3 km into Russian-held territory, beyond the kill zone.
Also read: "Tactical Error": Pentagon Admits It Should Have Accepted Zelensky's Drone Defense Offer Last August.