Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a high-level military conference on October 7, 2025, said that the Russian army took over almost 5,000 square kilometers of land in Ukraine this year and controlled 212 villages. This happened on Putin’s 73th birthday, and he spoke to a group of heads of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. In short, the area equals about 1% of the territory of Ukraine, and Russia now occupies almost 20% of the total area of Ukraine. Putin stressed that the Russian army now has fully mastered the initiative on the battlefield, and Ukrainian troops on all fronts are retreating backwards, even if they try to attack in Russia.
Since Putin launched Russia's special military operation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the two sides have been engaged in the eastern provinces. Russia initially controlled Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and later included Khersson and Zaporozhye through a referendum. Up to now, Russia's control rate in Luhansk Province is as high as 99%, and it also exceeds 70% in Donetsk and Zaporozhye provinces. These data are not compiled casually, but are calculated based on reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense and progress on the front line. At Putin's meeting, Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov also reported on the details, saying that the Russian army was pushing forward almost everywhere on the 1250-kilometer-long front, despite the efforts of Ukraine to block it.
Specific to the battlefield, the focus is mainly in the direction of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Province. This place is the main transportation route in eastern Ukraine. Many roads and railways pass through it. It has always been a key point for the Ukrainian army to transport supplies to the front line. Russia regards this as the gateway to Donetsk and has concentrated its firepower in recent months to cut off Ukraine's supply lines. Gerasimov mentioned that the Russian army is advancing towards the cities of Siversk and Kostyantinivka, and is also expanding its territory in the southern part of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk provinces. In the northern part of Sumy and Kharkiv provinces, the Russian army built a buffer zone and drove Ukrainian troops back from Kupyansk. On the same day, the Ministry of National Defense also announced that it had occupied two more villages, which added some evidence to Putin's words.
Ukraine has not yet officially responded to these claims. By October 8, Kiev authorities remained silent, but from their previous statements, they did not recognize. The Ukrainian military said in August that the Russian offensive was basically failed, and this year did not take any major cities. In fact, Ukraine has also launched counter-attacks in some places, such as in the north of Kharkiv and Sumer province, they claimed to have defeated a lot of Russian advances. Data from the Deep State Analysis Platform showed that Russia occupied only 259 square kilometers in September, 44% less than in August, which is the lowest monthly progress since May.
The conflict began in Crimea in 2014, and the contradictions between Russia and Ukraine did not stop. After the start of the operation in 2022, Russia’s objectives have been so-called de-militarization and de-Naziization, protecting the safety of residents of the Donbas region. Putin reiterated at the meeting that these objectives remained unchanged. The total area of land controlled by Russia is now close to one-fifth of Ukraine, including large areas of the eastern and southern provinces. But this also means that the remaining front has been long, supply and military maintenance became a big problem. The Russian army’s advance speed in the first half of 2025 was relatively fast, taking up fortresses such as Avgeevka, but in the second half it slowed down, moving on average only a few dozen meters a day.
When Western media reported on Reuters and France 24, they emphasized that Russia's advance was a fact, but also pointed out that Ukraine caused heavy losses to the Russian army during its resistance. Russian media touted these developments as strategic victories, saying they liberated the land. In terms of actual data, Russia has accounted for less than 5000 square kilometers in total from January 2024 to the present, with an average of about 6 square kilometers per day. This figure may sound large, but compared with the total area of Ukraine of more than 600,000 square kilometers, it is not so shocking. A deep regional map of Ukraine shows that Russia accounts for 19.04% of the country, and the rest is still fiercely contested.
Putin’s statement is about to catch up with the autumn recruitment cycle. Russia is scheduled to recruit 135,000 people every spring and autumn in 2025, which is 2,000 more than last autumn. These new troops will not go directly to the Ukrainian front and serve for 12 months, mainly in the back. But the reality is that the number of Russian military casualties in Ukraine is terribly high. The Western think tank estimates that Russia’s total casualties exceed 1 million, including casualties and serious injuries. Ukraine is also poor, the shortage of troops is severe, and the prosecutor’s office has handled more than 150,000 cases in 2025. Both sides are working hard, Russia relies on recruitment and volunteers and Ukraine relies on forced mobilization.
The time for Putin’s speech is sensitive. It’s his birthday, and it’s autumn, and the international world is still talking about a peace plan. The framework for peace talks pushed by the United States and the EU includes the withdrawal of troops and security, but Russia doesn’t buy the bills and adhere to its terms. Putin said that even if Ukraine engages in cross-border attacks, it won’t change the overall situation. Ukrainian President Zelensky recently went to the United States to seek help and want to get more long-range missiles, but Russia has warned that this will escalate the conflict.
In the long run, there are no signs of a quick end of the war. Russia advances slowly but steadily; Ukraine resists strongly but resources are limited. Both sides have lost millions, and reconstruction takes generations. The international community is divided, the West supports Ukraine, Russia draws to the global South. Putin’s statement is for domestic gas and is also showing strength to the outside. But the fact is that the front line is still stiff, the battle of Pokrovsk is heated, the Russian military wants to cut off the supplies, and Ukraine is guarding the dead hub.