Russians occupied almost 500 sq km of Ukrainian territory in October

The Russian forces occupied about 490 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in October, the highest figure for 2024 and for the Russian counter-offensive that has been going on since October 2023.

Source: Ukrainian analytical project DeepState Map

Details: At the same time, analysts emphasise that there is no need to measure everything by area, because it is people who are fighting and they are the guarantee of the army's sustainability and its potential for resistance.

The indicator is the capabilities of the military industry, the level of training of the conscripts, the degree of mechanisation, the availability of long-range strike capabilities, and most importantly, the rational use of human potential. The latter, sadly, is becoming a weak point for Ukraine, the Deep State notes.

In turn, the Russians are correcting their mistakes: while "cannon fodder" units used to be a classic of their army, nowadays their regiments and brigades are increasingly spending additional weeks and months training their personnel, the project analysts say. The presence of a large number of manpower allows the Russians to conduct regular rotations every one or two months. However, for Ukraine's military leadership, performing a rotation in a brigade, which has been on the battlefield since 24 February 2022, may become a problem, Deep State adds.

To sum up, the analysts point out that the area of occupied territories is certainly important, but it is definitely not the only criterion for assessing the effectiveness of the army. In October 2022, the Russians attacked Novomykhailivka with 4 full companies, but now it is something they can barely afford.

Background:

• On 1 November 2024, Estonian intelligence announced that Russian troops had managed to occupy about 150 square kilometres in Donetsk Oblast over the week before that.
• Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that the Russian army seized more territory that week than at any other time in 2024 during the same period.
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has recently increased the number of regiments, brigades and divisions and the number of its personnel by almost 100,000. The length of the line of contact has also increased to 1,300 kilometres. Dmytro Lykhovii, spokesperson for the General Staff, explains that the Russian troops have a significant advantage on the line of contact, sometimes up to 5 times.

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