Russian forces captured Huliaipole in summer 2026 and have since converted industrial sites, hangars, and building basements into troop assembly points, command posts, and drone operator shelters, positioning the town as a logistics hub near the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk junction to support advances toward Zaporizhzhia city. Ukrainian 7th Air Assault Corps units have responded by targeting supply routes through Marfopil with medium-range drones and artillery strikes extending up to 20 km, destroying hundreds of Russian vehicles and equipment in September and early October while forcing greater reliance on vulnerable motorcycles. Daily Russian assaults in the sector have continued without reported Ukrainian territorial gains or re-entry into the town, amid a broader defensive posture focused on attrition of enemy logistics rather than immediate counteroffensives.