According to an AFP analysis based on data from an American institute, the Russian army captured about 90 square kilometers in the last month. This represents an increase of 38 square kilometers compared to July and 30 square kilometers relative to June.
However, Russia's advance in August of last year was more than five times higher. Throughout 2025, Russia advanced an average of 405 square kilometers per month. Nevertheless, the level of progress recorded last month has not been seen since February.
The slowdown in the Russian army's pace this year led to net losses for Moscow in April and May, as Russian troops lost control over 403 square kilometers of territory during these two spring months.
Most of Russia's successes in August were achieved in the Donetsk region (in the east), where the army took control of 73 square kilometers. In the Kharkiv region, in the northeast, Russians also advanced by almost 30 square kilometers, while the gain in Zaporizhzhia (in the south) was minor.
Some of these gains resulted from previous raids that the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) revised as advances after analyzing new data provided by intelligence services.
According to ISW, Ukraine also achieved small net gains in August in three regions, including Dnipropetrovsk (8.5 square kilometers). Ukraine has been continuously building its positions in the central-eastern part of the country since the beginning of the year.
The assessments exclude claims of advancement by the Russian side that could not be confirmed by the institute working with the Critical Threats Project—a division of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), another American analytical center specializing in conflict studies.
More than four years after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia controls just over 19% of the country. Before 2022, Moscow controlled approximately 7%, including the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, as well as areas of the Donbas industrial basin under the control of pro-Russian separatists.
Most of Russia's advances occurred in the first weeks of the invasion that began in 2022, mainly in southern and eastern Ukraine.