Russia has seized more territory in its war with Ukraine over the past week than at any point in 2024, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 1, using Bloomberg Intelligence calculations based on the DeepState map service that tracks battlefield changes in coordination with Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.
In recent months, Russian troops carried out a grinding advance in eastern Ukraine, making territorial gains while incurring heavy losses.
Russia has captured 1,146 square kilometers (442 square miles) in Ukraine since Aug. 6, about a quarter more than in the first seven months of the year, the media outlet said. The Russian military also advanced by 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) over the past week, Bloomberg reported.
As Russia makes gains on the battlefield, Ukrainian officials are growing more despondent about the future course of the war, according to one official close to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office who spoke to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, according to Estonian intelligence, Moscow has seized 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) in the Donetsk sector of the front line over the past week.
Russian troops have reportedly captured the town of Selydove, but Ukraine has not yet confirmed the reports. Bloomberg said Russia’s next targets are the towns of Poskovsk and Kurakhove, important logistical hubs for the Ukrainian military.
Observers and the Ukrainian military have previously warned of an increasingly difficult situation in the town as Russian forces have been pushing forward over the past few weeks.
The Ukrainian military said on Oct. 29 that it had repelled 11 Russian attacks in the Pokrovsk sector, including near Selydove.
Ukraine facing ‘grim’ situation in Donetsk Oblast, as Russia claims capture of Selydove
Ukraine faces a “pretty grim” situation in Donetsk Oblast in the east of the country as Russian forces make some of their swiftest advances since the summer of 2022, according to experts and OSINT analysts. “The last week has been extremely difficult for the Ukrainians — the Russians were able to