Russia achieved its largest acquisition of territory in October since the start of its war in Ukraine, a total of more than 600 square kilometers, reports Portfolio.hu based on an analysis by War Mapper.
Since the war began, War Mapper has been creating maps based on battlefield photos and videos of Russian and Ukrainian territorial gains. A monthly graph also shows the current net gain.
The latest figure for net territorial gains in October shows that the Russian army gained 539 square kilometers of territory within Ukraine and 86 square kilometers within their own country. This is its largest acquisition in the last two and a half years, with the total equal to its gains for the three summer months combined.
Russian forces have been continuously gaining net territory, but this has accelerated in the past five months. Russia’s largest gains have been in Donetsk County, with it now controlling 62.83 percent of the area. Of the newly “annexed” counties, control remains the highest in Luhansk at 98.7 percent.
As of the end of October, the Russians occupy 17.95 percent of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, currently control 1.86 percent of Kursk County, Russia, while they previously controlled as much as 2.84 percent in the first week of September.
As Portfolio notes, territorial gains may not dictate a war’s outcome, but it does appear that Ukraine’s Kursk offensive had a negative impact on its efforts to maintain control of Ukrainian territories, while the country was unable to maintain control of acquired Russian territories.
Meanwhile, Russia seems to be gaining momentum. Notably, the autumn and winter months may show a reduction in combat advances due to weather conditions.
