Moscow, Dec. 16, (dpa/GNA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces have captured 189 locations in Ukraine so far this year.
“The Russian armed forces are firmly in possession of the strategic initiative along the entire contact line,” Putin said at a meeting of the Defence Ministry in Moscow.
Defence Minister Andrey Belousov claimed that a total area of 4,500 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory had been conquered.
The Russian figures cannot be independently verified. However, independent observers confirm that the Russians have made territorial gains this year.
According to calculations by the Ukrainian telegram channel UA War Infographics, Russian troops have conquered around 2,800 square kilometres since the beginning of the year. This would mean that Russian territorial gains are almost 20 times higher than the previous year’s figure.
Belousov said that more than 1,200 volunteers were currently signing a contract for military service every day. “This year alone, more than 427,000 soldiers have already been recruited,” he said, adding that Russia now spends a third of its budget – 32.5% – on defence.
Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for almost three years and about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory is now under Moscow’s control.
There was news of further casualties on Monday, with the Ukrainian authorities saying a 53-year-old woman had been killed in a Russian drone attack on a shop in the southern region of Kherson. A preliminary investigation has been opened for a war crime resulting in death, prosecutors said.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced on Monday morning that Russia had attacked with 49 drones during the night. Of these, 27 were shot down and 19 failed to reach their target and were lost, mostly due to the use of electronic countermeasures, it said.
GNA