Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov have made significantly inflated claims regarding the supposed military advancements of the Russian army, aiming to create a misleading narrative of success, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin announced that Russian forces had supposedly captured 310 populated areas since the beginning of the year, asserting that they are “confidently advancing” along the entire front line. Gerasimov added claims of capturing another 92 populated areas since September 1, covering over 1,800 km².
However, ISW has obtained evidence suggesting that in the first eight months of this year, Russian forces actually occupied only about 100 km² and 69 populated areas, while from September 1 onward, they suffered net losses totaling 122 km².
According to ISW, Russian troops have been losing an average of 7 km² per day since early October.
The Moscow Times calculated that after nine months, the net gain of territory captured by the Russian army amounted to 144.51 km², which is approximately 45 times less than the area proclaimed by Putin.
Context
- Since the beginning of 2026, Ukrainian forces have liberated 800 km² from occupiers. Meanwhile, during the same period, the Russian army captured 890 km², as stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on September 23. Zelensky emphasized that to achieve these minimal territorial gains, the Russian army has lost approximately 260,000 to 270,000 servicemen since the start of the year.
- According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as of the morning of October 17, total Russian losses on the battlefield have reached 1,562,970 personnel (+1,950 in one day).
