Moscow, Russia. Russia’s top general said Russian forces have taken more than 1,700 square kilometres of territory in Ukraine this year and are advancing toward the Donbas “fortress belt.” Ukraine reported repelling attacks in the same areas, and Reuters said it could not verify the battlefield accounts.
Russian claims of territorial gains
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said in defence ministry footage released Tuesday that “since the beginning of this year, a total of 80 settlements and more than 1,700 square kilometres of territory have come under our control.”
Reuters said it was unable to verify the claims, and a spokesperson for Ukraine’s General Staff said he would not comment. Pro-Ukrainian maps indicate Russia has taken around 600 square kilometres this year.
Focus on Donetsk “fortress belt”
Gerasimov said Russia’s Southern Grouping of forces was attacking the Donetsk fortress belt, which he described as comprising Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka. He said Russian forces were about 7 to 12 km from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, and that Russian units were already fighting in parts of Kostiantynivka.
Operations in northern and northeastern regions
Gerasimov said Russian forces were advancing in Sumy in the north and Kharkiv in the northeast to create what he called “a security zone.”
Ukraine reports repelling attacks
Kyiv’s military said Tuesday its forces had stopped two Russian attempts to advance around villages near Sloviansk over the past 24 hours. It said Russia carried out 19 attacks near Kostiantynivka and eight nearby villages, and made five attempts to break Ukrainian defences around several settlements near the Russian border in the Kharkiv region.
Top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said in mid-April that Kyiv’s forces had regained control of nearly 50 square kilometres of territory in March.
Russian estimates of control
According to Russian estimates, Russia controls about 90% of Donbas, about 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions in Ukraine.
What impact do you think verified battlefield data would have on how you assess these competing claims?