KYIV, Ukraine, July 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Friday that a turning point in the war with Russia was "still a long way off", despite hailing a string of recent successes for his troops.

Kyiv's army has halted the Russian advance across much of the front line in recent months, and delivered a string of major long-range attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Many in Ukraine and among their backers abroad are saying Kyiv's troops are on the front foot in the more than four-year war.

In a social media post summarising the first half of the year, Syrsky noted a decrease in the number of "active offensive fronts", and said Russia's assaults had dropped by half.

"In terms of the rate of advance, the two sides have effectively reached parity," Syrsky said.

"At the same time, the enemy must not be underestimated. We are still far from a turning point in the war," he added.

In early July, Russia announced that it had captured Kostyantynivka, a town in the eastern Donetsk region that serves as a key stronghold for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

But Ukraine has advanced in other areas of the battlefield.

According to data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysed by AFP, Ukraine recaptured 403 square kilometres (156 square miles) during April and May, signalling a slowdown in the Russian offensive since the end of 2025.

Russia has also increased the "intensity of its missile and drone strikes" on civilian areas, Syrsky said.

Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 93 people and wounded more than 500 since the start of July, according to a report by the foreign ministry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday told reporters the strikes were "the only advantage he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) has left", saying that Kyiv had "grown stronger both on the battlefield and in the air."

Syrsky also said Ukraine had carried out successful strikes on 697 targets inside Russia over the last six months as it upped its own campaign of retaliatory long-range attacks.