Russia advanced on 477 square kilometers (184 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in August, which was Moscow’s biggest monthly increase since October 2022, according to data from the Institute for the Study of War. The Ukrainian army, on the other hand, made rapid gains in early August in Russia after an incursion into the border region of Kursk, gaining more than 1,100 square kilometers (424 square miles) in two weeks. However, this new front has solidified to between 1,150 and 1,300 square kilometers (444 and 501 square miles) of advances over the past 15 days, mainly in the eastern region of Donetsk.
Russian troops advanced 15 square kilometers (5.7 square miles) per day in Ukraine during August, with most of the gains towards the logistical hub of Pokrovsk. Moscow took as much territory in August 2024 as it did in October 2022 in response to a major Ukrainian counteroffensive around the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Since the beginning of 2024, Moscow has gained 1,730 square kilometers (667 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, three times more than in 2023, when its gains were wiped out by Ukrainian counteroffensives.
As of September 1, Russia occupied 66,266 square kilometers (25,585 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, covering 18 percent of Ukraine’s 2013 size when including the Crimea Peninsula and zones of eastern Ukraine already under control of pro-Russian separatists before the 2022 invasion. Ukrainian forces have struggled to counterattack on their own territory, winning more territory than they lost to the Russians on only eight days so far in 2024, and usually only several square kilometers at a time.
