Over four years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia occupies just over 19% of the country.
Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on January 28, 2026. (AFP / TETIANA DZHAFAROVA)
The Russian army lost control of about 120 km2 of Ukrainian territory in April, a first since the Ukrainian counter-offensive in August 2023, according to analysis by the AFP of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
After more than four years of large-scale war, intense fighting continues unabated on the front lines, while difficult diplomatic negotiations have been suspended since the start of the war in the Middle East. Moscow recently proposed a brief ceasefire for the May 9 commemorations in Russia of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, while Kiev demands an extended ceasefire to facilitate talks, which the Kremlin rejects.
The retreat of Moscow’s forces reported by the ISW is not total: Russian troops remain infiltrated in three-quarters of the areas where Ukraine has gained ground.
The Ukrainian army has been able to advance into various locations along the front lines in April without making a major breakthrough: about forty square kilometers in each of the Zaporijjia, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions. However, Russia has taken a few square kilometers to the east of Kramatorsk (Donetsk).
A marginal advance
“Ukrainian ground counter-attacks and medium-range strikes, the blocking of Russian use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine in February 2026, and the Kremlin’s repression of Telegram have exacerbated existing problems within the Russian army,” the institute said.
It also mentions a possible effect of “seasonal trends,” with the thawing of frozen land and spring rains that “degrade the conditions” for troop movements.
If the Ukrainian gains in April are the first in two and a half years, they remain marginal: 120 km² represent only 0.02% of Ukrainian territory including Crimea and the Donbass.
Over four years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia occupies just over 19% of the country, including 7% in Crimea and the industrial basin areas of Donbass, already under Russian or pro-Russian separatist control before the February 2022 invasion. The majority of Russian advances were made in the early weeks of the conflict.
