Moscow’s chief military officer announced Tuesday that Russian forces have captured 1,700 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the start of 2024, as troops continue pushing toward strategic defensive positions in eastern Ukraine.
General Valery Gerasimov, who leads Russia’s military general staff, made the territorial claims during a troop inspection, stating that Russian forces have gained control of 80 communities across the captured area of roughly 656 square miles.
“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,” Gerasimov said in video footage distributed by Russia’s defense ministry on Tuesday.
The general described Russian advances toward what he called Ukraine’s “fortress belt” in the Donbas region, specifically targeting the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka. According to Gerasimov, Russian troops have moved to within 7 to 12 kilometers of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, while fighting has already begun in sections of Kostiantynivka.
Russia has been working to capture the entire Donbas area in eastern Ukraine since launching its invasion in 2022, gradually forcing Ukrainian defenders back toward this line of fortified cities through sustained combat operations.
Ukrainian forces have also reported territorial gains in what has become Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War Two. Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi announced in mid-April that his forces had reclaimed nearly 50 square kilometers during March.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield claims from either side, and Ukrainian military leadership did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maps maintained by pro-Ukrainian sources indicate Russia has taken 592 square kilometers this year.
Beyond the Donbas operations, Gerasimov said Russian forces are also moving forward in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region and northeastern Kharkiv area to establish what he described as “a security zone.”
Russian military estimates suggest Moscow now controls approximately 90% of the Donbas region, along with about 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, plus smaller portions of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Russia also maintains control over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula it seized in 2014 during earlier fighting. Most countries continue to recognize Crimea as Ukrainian territory under international law.
Pro-Ukrainian mapping data shows Russia controlling 116,793 square kilometers, representing 19.35% of Ukraine’s total territory, though the pace of Russian territorial gains has decreased this year.
