Russia’s advance to Ukraine slowed by almost half in September, with Moscow gaining its smallest territory since May, according to the watchdog group’s deep state.
“The Russians were able to win 259 square kilometers (100 square miles)” in September, Deepstate, the Ukrainian open-source mapping site that illustrates the frontlines of the war, said in a report released Wednesday.
“Last month, the enemy occupied 44% less territory than in August,” he said. “Through the moon, the Russians occupied 0.04% of the country’s total area, bringing the total to 19.04%.”
On Wednesday, General Oleksandr Silsky, commander of the Ukrainian army, said his forces had regained control over 2.2 square kilometers (about 0.85 square miles) of Ukrainian territory on the past day.
“In addition, attacks and search operations were carried out to destroy the enemy in a three-square-kilometer area of the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk region. Our attacking units advanced from 100 meters to 1,400 meters in certain directions,” he said.
The top Ukrainian general said last week that his troops are fighting on the 776-mile (1,250km) frontline.
The Russian method “involves the simultaneous use of a large number of small attack groups consisting of four to six soldiers moving forward using topography, valleys and planting, and there is a major challenge to penetrate as deeply as possible into our territory,” he told reporters last Thursday.
“They come out, concentrate, move forward again, then attack our deep targets, paralyze our logistics and the rotation of our troops, destroying our supply lines, and they will capture the territory without using a large number of troops,” continued Silsky.
Nevertheless, “Overall, the situation is under our control. We’ve had success recently,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense last week claimed that since January 1 this year, it has acquired more than 3,308 square kilometers of territory in Donetsk and 205 square kilometers (79 square miles) in Luhansk.
Collectively known as Donbas, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have rich farmlands, important rivers and coastlines on the Sea of Azov.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also said it has acquired hundreds of square kilometres of land in the areas of Kalkiv, Zapolizia, Zapolizia, Smie and Dnipropetrovsk since the start of the year.
Russia’s progressive interests at the forefront are consistent with air attacks on Ukraine, and have become bigger and more frequent since expanding drone production earlier this year.
At least four people were killed in overnight attacks across Ukraine last weekend after Russia launched more than 600 drones and missiles across the country. This was the third largest barrage of reporting by the Ukrainian Air Force since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky commemorated Advocates Day, honoring “all who have joined our state’s defense, everyone who dedicates their efforts to ensure that the whole country wins.”
“I am grateful to all the men and women who protect Ukraine. And I remember the price of this defense. I remember all my life,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
