Russian Military Chief Claims Russia Has Seized 1,700 Square Kilometers of Ukrainian Territory This Year

JAKARTA - The Russian military commander claims that his soldiers have seized 1,700 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year and are advancing towards what is called their fortress belt in Donbas.

Since the 2022 invasion, Russia has sought to seize all of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv's forces have been pushed back to the city lines in fierce fighting.

"Since the beginning of this year, a total of 80 settlements and more than 1,700 square kilometers of territory have been under our control," Russian General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, said in a recording released by the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday, reported Al Arabiya from Reuters (21/4).

Separately, Kyiv also reported some progress in the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. Ukrainian military commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in mid-April, Kyiv forces had recaptured control of nearly 50 square kilometers of territory in March.

Reuters was not able to verify the battlefield reports and Ukrainian military general staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, pro-Ukrainian maps show that Russia has seized 592 square kilometers this year.

General Gerasimov said the Russian Southern Group of Forces attacked the Donetsk stronghold belt, which includes the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Kostiantynivka, and Russian forces are about 7 to 12 km (4.3 to 7.5 miles) from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

"Russian units have already fought in several parts of Kostiantynivka," he said.

In addition, General Gerasimov said Russian forces were advancing on Sumy in the north and Kharkiv in the northeast to create what he called a "security zone."

According to Russian estimates, Russia controls about 90 percent of Donbas, about 75 percent of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and a small part of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions in Ukraine.

Russia also controls Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 after previous fighting. The Black Sea peninsula is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine by most countries.

The pro-Ukrainian map shows Russia totally controlling 116,793 square kilometers, or 19.35 percent, of Ukrainian territory, but Russia's advances have slowed this year.