Russia in November made its largest monthly territorial gains in the war in Ukraine since March 2022, according to an AFP analysis of data from the U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Monday.
Kremlin forces advanced over 725 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the east near the city of Pokrovsk — up from 610 square kilometers in October — and equivalent to the size of Singapore.
Pokrovsk — a rail and road hub — is located in the Donetsk region, which accounts for nearly 90% of Russian territorial gains in November (629 square kilometers).
The Ukrainian army now controls less than a third of the region compared to more than 40% on Jan. 1 this year.
In recent weeks, Russian troops claimed to have captured a number of places to the south and east of the city and are now within five kilometers of it.
The advance has accelerated since the end of the spring. Including November, the total Russian gains in Ukraine was 3,500 square kilometers — six times more than in the whole of 2023.
The last time Russia made greater gains in Ukraine in such a short time was in March 2022 after the launch of its full-scale invasion several weeks earlier.
In March of that year, Russian operations in the north of Ukraine saw it control 45,426 square kilometers and threaten to take control of the capital, Kyiv.
Since hostilities began on Feb. 24, 2022, Russia has taken 68,500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, the data indicated.
With Crimea, annexed in 2014, and territories in the Donbas region controlled by separatists before Russia's full-scale invasion, Moscow currently controls 18.4% of pre-2014 Ukrainian territory.
AFP calculations are based on files communicated daily by the ISW, which relies on publicly available information disseminated by both sides and satellite imagery analysis.
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