Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov said on Tuesday that Russian forces have captured more than 1,700 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine since the start of 2026, including 80 settlements. He described advances toward Ukraine’s “fortress belt” in Donbas, a defensive line of cities including Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Kostiantynivka.
According to Gerasimov, Russian units are now within 7 to 12 kilometers of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and already fighting in parts of Kostiantynivka. He also claimed Russian forces are pushing forward in Sumy and Kharkiv to establish what he called a “security zone.”
Ukraine’s military disputed the scale of Russia’s progress, saying its forces repelled multiple attacks near Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka in the past 24 hours. Kyiv also reported stopping five Russian attempts to break defenses near settlements in Kharkiv.
Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said earlier this month that Kyiv’s forces regained nearly 50 square kilometers in March. Independent pro‑Ukrainian mapping projects estimate Russia has taken closer to 600 square kilometers this year, far less than Moscow’s claim.
Russia says it now controls about 90% of Donbas, 75% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, along with Crimea, annexed in 2014. Pro‑Ukrainian maps put Russia’s total control at around 116,793 square kilometers — about 19.35% of Ukraine’s territory — but note that Russia’s advance has slowed in 2026.
The contrasting battlefield accounts highlight the grinding nature of the war, with both sides reporting gains but neither achieving decisive breakthroughs.
