2025 Roundup: Details of Russia's Field Gains in Ukraine
Russia made significant gains on the ground in Ukraine last year, surpassing the results achieved in any other year since the start of the conflict, with the exception of the first invasion year in 2022. A recent analysis by AFP, based on data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), revealed that Russian forces were able to significantly expand their field influence, exploiting their numerical and military superiority against Ukrainian defenses.
Details of the field gains in 2025
According to the analysis, the Russian military seized control of more than 5,600 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory during 2025, representing approximately 0.94% of the country's total area. This includes areas that Kyiv and Western military analysts acknowledge as having fallen under Russian control, as well as other areas that Moscow has unilaterally declared to be under its control.
These figures gain significance when compared to previous years; the territory Russia controlled in 2025 was larger than the combined total of its gains in 2023 and 2024. While this advance is still far less than the massive offensive of 60,000 square kilometers in the first year of the war (2022), it indicates a shift in the dynamics of the conflict in Moscow's favor after a period of relative stalemate.
The context of war and the strategy of attrition
This Russian advance comes in the context of a protracted war of attrition, where Moscow has capitalized on its superiority in manpower and domestic military industries, while Ukraine has struggled with ammunition shortages and delayed Western aid at crucial junctures. Russian strategy has focused primarily on the eastern front, specifically in the Donbas region, which has been a key strategic objective for the Kremlin since the beginning of the conflict.
Monthly data indicate a variation in the pace of progress; Russia made its biggest gains during 2025 in November, controlling 701 square kilometers, while December saw a marked slowdown, with control limited to 244 square kilometers, the lowest monthly tally since March of the same year, which may reflect the impact of weather conditions or the repositioning of forces.
Political pressures and diplomatic stalemate
On the political and international front, these developments on the ground have placed Ukraine under immense pressure, both in terms of human casualties and the systematic loss of territory. In an attempt to break this bloody stalemate, US President Donald Trump held talks with both sides with the aim of finding a formula to end the fighting.
However, these efforts have not yet yielded a real breakthrough. The Kremlin, which currently controls roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, is holding firm to its conditions, which include the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the eastern Donbas region as a precondition for peace. Kyiv, for its part, accuses Moscow of using diplomatic efforts as a smokescreen to buy time and seize more territory, asserting that Russia lacks a genuine desire to end the war through fair negotiations.
