Russian Defense Minister Claims Successfully To Seize An Area Of 547 Square Kilometers In Ukraine Throughout This Year

JAKARTA - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces had taken control of an area of 547 square kilometers (211 square miles) this year in what he called Russia's "new territory", referring to four Ukrainian regions Moscow says have annexed.

In remarks on Friday before senior military commanders, Defense Minister Shoigu said Ukrainian forces withdrew along the front lines and Russian troops destroyed what he called the Ukrainian fort network.

"Ukraine army units tried to defend their respective lines, but under our attack, they were forced to leave their positions and withdraw," Defense Minister Shoigu said.

"Over the past two weeks, the Russian Armed Forces have freed the settlements of Novobakhmutivka, Semenivka and Berdychi in the Donetsk People's Republic," he explained, referring to the name Russia uses for one of the four annexed regions.

Earlier, Ukraine's top commander said on Sunday the outnumbered Kyiv troops had withdrawn to new positions to the west of three villages in the east front.

Moscow in September 2022 said seven months after sending troops to Ukraine it had entered four Ukrainian regions, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia, into its sovereign territory although it did not fully control any of the territories.

Ukraine said the move was illegal land confiscation, saying it plans to expel any Russian army from its territory, including from Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Russia is known to control about 18 percent of Ukraine's territory, in the east and south, gaining strength since the Kyiv retaliatory attack in 2023 failed to make serious breakthroughs against Russian forces with strong troops.