Russian advances in Ukraine escalate Eastern front challenges
The Russian military captured 185 square miles of Ukrainian territory in October, a record since March 2022, according to an analysis by AFP based on data from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
6:26 PM EDT, October 29, 2024
By October 27, Russian forces had gained more territory than in August and September 2024, with respective increases of 184 and 177 square miles, after significant changes at the front, particularly in eastern Ukraine near the city of Pokrovsk.
Two-thirds of the territories seized by Russia, or 125 square miles, are located in the eastern part of Donbas.
Russian troops are currently just a few miles from Pokrovsk, approaching from the south and east.
These advances highlight the challenges facing the Ukrainian army in troubled eastern Ukraine, where it faces better-armed Russian soldiers who outnumber Kyiv's forces, writes AFP.
The Moscow army is also seizing territory on the northern front, occupying more than 15 square miles in the Kupiansk area.
This city was seized by Russian troops in the war's early stages and was later regained by Ukraine during a counter-offensive in September 2022. The last time Russia made such advances was in March 2022, when it moved towards the capital, Kyiv, at the beginning of the war.
At that time, the front line was much more fluid than it is today.
In 2023, Russian forces captured only 225 square miles of Ukrainian territory.
Russians occupy Ukrainian land
However, since January 1, 2024, they have already seized over 1,027 square miles, slightly larger than the size of Moscow. From the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, to October 27, 2024, Russia has taken 25,944 square miles of Ukrainian land.
Russia currently controls 18.2 percent of the territory that was part of Ukraine before 2014. This includes Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and areas of eastern Ukraine that pro-Russian separatists controlled before the February 2022 offensive.
Previously, Major General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmitry Marchenko stated that the Ukrainian military continues to lose positions in the Donetsk region, and Russian forces have virtually captured Selydove.
"The front has collapsed:" Russians enter Selydove
I will not reveal any military secrets by saying the front has collapsed, Marchenko noted. Unfortunately, the Russians have entered Selydove and are strengthening there. I think they will soon surround and fully capture it, providing them with tactical access to Pokrovsk. This is very bad for us, he said.
According to the general, this situation resulted from a lack of ammunition, weapons, and personnel. He also described the challenging situation as a "lack of balance in management."
On October 27, military analyst Julian Röpke from Bild stated that the front in the southern Donetsk region is "collapsing." He noted that in just three days, Russian forces took control of eight Ukrainian localities. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are losing "between two and five miles a day, and at this rate, it would take Russia about half a year to reach the Dnipropetrovsk region."
