ISW maps show Russian offensive has sharply slowed

The Institute for the Study of War says Vladimir Putin significantly exaggerated Russian advances in a September 1 press conference, including a claim that Russian troops seized 270 square kilometers in Donetsk Oblast during August. ISW's own tally puts the real figure at about 73 square kilometers, rising to roughly 104 with infiltration operations counted, while total gains across the entire front were only about 90 square kilometers.

Putin also claimed Russian forces were within a few kilometers of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka, and had captured Sviatohirsk and Kozacha Lopan outright. ISW found no evidence for the Sviatohirsk claim, said Russian forces remain roughly 13 kilometers from that town, and calculated Kozacha Lopan was only about 13% captured.

Putin's claim of encircling 5,000 Ukrainian troops near the Oskil Reservoir also went unsupported by ISW's review, which noted a similar claim by Gerasimov about Kupiansk last October was later disproved when Zelenskyy visited the city himself. ISW concluded Russian advances have slowed considerably even as losses stay high.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.