In May 2026, and for the second consecutive month, Ukraine liberates more territory than the Russians seize. A bad signal for Vladimir Putin, whose army is no longer able to advance on the front.
As of May 2026, Ukrainian forces liberated more territory than Russian forces seized, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). This is a loss of speed for the Russian army for the second consecutive month. The results of the ISW study point to a reduced Russian advance on the front in parallel with an increase in Ukrainian advances.
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The Russians are losing ground on the front
Russian forces seized or infiltrated approximately 40 km² of Ukrainian territory as of May 2026, according to the Institute for the Study of War. But the ISW data also suggests a loss of control of around 280 km² by the Russian army over the same period. The Ukrainian forces therefore managed to regain ground from the Russian invader, reducing for the second consecutive month the area of Ukrainian territory controlled by Moscow.
“Since October 2023, Russia had been steadily gaining ground month after month, but its progress had begun to stall at the end of 2025, going from an increase of 579 km² in November to only 23 km² in March,” explains TF1 Info. In April 2026, Russian forces lost control of approximately 116 km² of Ukrainian territory, a first since 2023.
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Vladimir Putin in difficulty
But if Russia is losing ground on the front, it is also now impacted by drone attacks. Ukrainian forces hit Saint Petersburg, located more than 1,000 kilometers from the border, on June 3. “The Russians no longer have the initiative on the ground (…) Vladimir Putin is in a difficult situation,” explained the editor-in-chief of the National Defense Review Jérôme Pellistrandi in an interview with The Midday Newspaper.
Behind the official speech, certain Russian officials would make the same observation. Bloomberg reports in a May 2026 article that senior Kremlin officials privately acknowledge that the war has reached a stalemate for the Russian regime.
Vladimir Putin, however, affirmed on June 5 that he did not want to deviate from his initial war objectives. “We assume that hostilities will end one day. And, without a doubt, they will end when we have achieved the goals that we have set for ourselves,” he declared in St. Petersburg where he spoke at an economic forum.
