For the period from January to April 2025, Russian troops captured only 1627 km² of territory in Ukraine and the Kursk region, which is much less compared to previous periods, the report said.
At the same time, data on the loss of Russian troops from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine indicate that Russian forces have lost 160.6 thousand people over the past four months, which on average is 99 losses for each captured square kilometer. ISW notes that this is a higher level of losses per square kilometer than in the fall of 2024.
The report states that Russian troops are faced with well -fortified Ukrainian positions in cities such as Kupyansk, watches, Toretsk and Pokrovsk. This leads to significant losses and reducing the effectiveness of offensive operations, although their number does not decrease. According to analysts, this suggests that Russia generates enough strength to withstand these losses without reducing the priority of any front area.
The illegitimate President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin continues to maintain the pace of offensive operations, trying to put pressure on Ukraine in negotiations about the ceasefire. However, according to ISW estimates, such a strategy may be unprofitable for Russia in the long run due to growing economic costs and personnel restrictions.
According to analysts, Putin can change his short -term goals, preferring to consolidate the already captured territories and ensure the economic stability of Russia instead of the further seizure of new territories. This can lead to the transition of Russian troops to defensive operations and a decrease in the pace of the offensive. It is noted that he remains committed to his long -term military targets of capturing all of Ukraine and undermining NATO.
Context
The Russian Federation unleashed a war against Ukraine in 2014, when she occupied Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full -scale invasion of Ukraine from the northern, eastern and southern directions. In the spring of the same year, the Ukrainian army was discovered by the north of the country, in the fall – units of the Kharkov and Kherson regions, in particular Kherson.
In June 2024, the Russian army began the invasion in the north of the Kharkov region, the battles for Volchansk continued. From August 6, 2024 Armed Forces An operation is performed in the aggressor country-in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. Since April 2025, the Ukrainian military has been conducting operations in Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
