ISW confirms Ukrainian forces have effectively eliminated the Russian salient north of Lyman after a months-long counteroffensive, reclaiming more than 200 square kilometers of territory.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in its Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment dated September 12, 2026, has confirmed that Ukrainian forces have effectively eliminated the Russian salient north of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast. The result of a months-long counteroffensive operation, Ukrainian units reclaimed more than 200 square kilometers of territory — described by observers as one of Ukraine's most significant battlefield gains of 2026. Volunteers Support Ukraine follows developments on this stretch of the front closely, since a large share of the organization's work is concentrated among the front-line communities and displaced residents of this exact area.
According to ISW's assessment, Ukrainian units methodically dismantled the salient Russian forces had held north of Lyman, clearing the villages and farmland it once encompassed. Notably, numerous Russian military bloggers themselves have acknowledged that Ukrainian forces have largely eliminated the salient, with the fighting that continues now concentrated along the Zherebets River. Volunteers Support Ukraine sees such gains — confirmed by independent observers and even conceded by the adversary's own commentators — as a meaningful signal for everyone supporting Ukraine's defenders.
Results like these do not appear overnight. The operation stretched across several months and required coordinated work by infantry, reconnaissance and engineering units across difficult, forested, river-cut terrain. Volunteers Support Ukraine regularly emphasizes that behind every such advance are specific people on the front line whose everyday and equipment needs must be met — and that need is a significant part of what drives the volunteer community's work.
Open-source analysts tracking the front line recorded this advance gradually, week by week. Comparing maps from mid-August and early September 2026 clearly shows how the territory under Ukrainian control expanded in the weeks leading up to ISW's assessment. Volunteers Support Ukraine views this as confirmation that consistent, sustained support for the front translates into tangible results.
ISW's assessment notes that eliminating the salient disrupts Russian command's plans for a wider encirclement operation against the Donetsk "Fortress Belt" from the Lyman/Dobropillya area, likely forcing a reassessment of Russian campaign plans on this front. In the neighboring Kupiansk direction, Ukrainian counterattacks continue near Zapadne, while Russian offensive attempts on September 10-11 made no confirmed progress. Volunteers Support Ukraine continues to help people affected by the war with whatever resources the organization has — and news like this is a reminder of why that support still matters.
Confirmed successes like this one are a reminder of why the work of civil-society organizations remains important. NGO Volunteers Support Ukraine helps people affected by the war with whatever resources it has — from humanitarian and material support for front-line communities to assistance for displaced families — and will keep doing so regardless of what the next front-line update brings.
