Since beginning of October, Russia has occupied almost 500 km² of Ukraine’s territory - WELT
In October, Russian invaders managed to seize more than 470 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory. This is the occupiers' largest territorial gains since March 2022.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by WELT.
According to media reports, Russia made rapid advances in Ukraine last week. In total, from 20 to 27 October, the Russian army managed to occupy 196 square kilometres. At the same time, the AFP news agency, citing data from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reported that the Russian army had advanced on 478 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of October.
"By 27 October, Russian troops had taken control of more territory than in August and September, when the territorial gains were 477 and 459 square kilometres respectively. In two months, there have already been significant shifts on the front line, especially in eastern Ukraine, around the strategically important city of Pokrovsk," the article says.
The journalists note that two-thirds of Russia's territorial gains in October were in Donetsk region, where Russians are approaching Pokrovsk from the south and east. The Ukrainian army has found itself in a difficult position on the Eastern Front, given the numerically superior and better-armed Russian soldiers.
"The last time Russian troops managed such an advance in March 2022, when they tried to reach Kyiv. In total, in 2023, they occupied 584 square metres of Ukraine's territory, and the area seized since 1 January 2024 is 2,660 square kilometres," WELT writes.
Together with Crimea, annexed in 2014, and the territories in Donbas that had already been controlled by separatists before the Russian offensive, Moscow currently controls about 18.2% of Ukrainian territory.
As reported by AFP, in August 2024, Russian troops seized 477 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory, the largest monthly increase since October 2022. The AFU gained up to 1,300 square kilometres as a result of the offensive in Kursk region.
