Russian Advances In Ukraine Grew Seven-fold In 2024, Data Shows
Muhammad Irfan Published January 01, 2025 | 12:30 AM
Kyiv, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jan, 2025) Russia advanced by almost 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 miles) in Ukraine in 2024, seven times more than in 2023, an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War showed Tuesday.
The data highlights the pressure Ukraine faces as it enters 2025, with Moscow pouring resources into its nearly three-year invasion and uncertainty hanging over future US aid for Kyiv under a Donald Trump presidency.
Much of the Russian gains came in the autumn, as they took 610 square kilometres in October and 725 square kilometres in November. Those two months saw the Russians capture the most territory since March 2022, in the early weeks of the conflict.
Russia's advance slowed in December, coming to 465 square kilometres in the first 30 days of the month.
But it is already nearly four times bigger than in the same month of the previous year and two-and-a-half times more than in December 2022.
Incumbent US President Joe Biden's administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before Trump takes office in January.
The Republican has said he will end the conflict in "24 hours" once in power, raising fears in Ukraine it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace.
- Missile hits -
Russia has launched overnight aerial attacks on Ukraine almost every day since its forces invaded in February 2022, targeting military and civilian infrastructure, including the power grid.
Moscow launched a barrage of drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight and early Tuesday, with officials conceding there were successful strikes in the east of the country and near the capital.
Authorities did not elaborate on what had been hit but in the wider Kyiv region, the governor said debris from a downed projectile had damaged a private home and wounded a woman.
Moscow said its forces had used attack drones and precision weapons in a "combined" assault on a military airfield and a munitions production facility, claiming that the targets were struck.
Ukraine has stepped up its own attacks inside Russian territory in response, and urged its Western allies to supply more air defence systems.
A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot, a Russian regional governor said earlier Tuesday.
In his New Year's Eve address Tuesday, Putin did not explicitly mention the war in Ukraine but praised Russia's soldiers for their "courage and bravery".
"You are true heroes who have undertaken the great military labour to defend Russia," he said.
