Russian forces occupied 4,336 square kilometers (1,674 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in 2025, accounting for less than 1% of the country, the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState reported in a year-end assessment published on Jan. 1.
“Compared to previous years, 2025 was truly difficult for the Defense Forces of Ukraine,” DeepState wrote in its assessment.
According to DeepState, Russian forces managed to capture 0.72% of Ukraine’s total territory over the past year, including territory in oblasts not previously occupied.
Earlier this year, a renewed Russian offensive led to Moscow’s forces gaining minimal footholds in previously unoccupied regions, including in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy oblasts where Russia captured 0.6% and 1.0% of the respective oblast’s territory.
Russian forces also continued their slow yet grinding progress in other regions of the front line as Moscow continues to ramp up its effort to seize additional Ukrainian territory amid ongoing peace talks brokered by the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued to espouse maximalist demands for Ukraine’s withdrawal from its partially occupied territories, vowing to continue to press forward until Moscow achieves its goal in Ukraine.
Despite a U.S.-led proposal in the 20-point peace plan to recognize the de facto front lines in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts at the time of signing, Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire.
Amid the Russian advances, Donetsk Oblast saw the highest percentage increase of Ukrainian land seized by Russian forces at nearly 78% of the oblast’s territory occupied — a 10 percentage point increase year-over-year.
While Luhansk is nearly entirely occupied, Russia made little gains in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and virtually no gains in Kherson Oblast.
According to DeepState, Russian forces have now captured approximately 75% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, up slightly from about 73% at the end of 2024, while Kherson Oblast remains at 72% occupied.
In total, Russian forces have occupied just over 116,000 square kilometers since the start of Russia’s annexation of the Donbas and Crimea in 2014 — with 2025’s total contributing to about 3.7% of Ukraine’s territorial losses. In total, Russia controls just over 19% of Ukrainian territory.
Despite making progress along the front line in 2025, Russian soldiers face mass casualties amid Russia’s lack of protective equipment, inadequate training, and “human wave” style of attacks, among other factors.
According to a joint investigation by BBC Russia and independent Russian media outlet Mediazona, over 156,000 Russian soldiers have been confirmed as casualties on the battlefield — although the totals are far higher.
In an update on Jan. 1, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that Russia lost approximately 418,170 troops, killed and wounded, over the course of 2025 alone. The estimate, which is broadly in-line with estimates made by Western intelligence agencies, likely includes those killed, captured, wounded, and missing.
The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify DeepState’s reporting.
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