PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA TOOK 6,500 KM² IN 2026: ISW COUNTED ABOUT 100

On October 16, Vladimir Putin told Russia's top generals that Russian forces had taken about 6,500 square kilometres of Ukraine and 310 settlements since the start of the year. The Institute for the Study of War, which tracks the front line every day, counts about 100 square kilometres and 69 settlements over the same period. It also counts a net Russian loss of about 122 square kilometres since September 1.

In this video: exactly what the Kremlin said, how independent analysts measure territory and where that method has limits, region-by-region comparisons in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Sumy, and the risks Ukraine still faces. Every claim is labelled as confirmed, claimed, or unverified.

Orbis Sentinel covers the war from Ukraine's side and shows how we know what we say. If we get something wrong, we correct it in the pinned comment with the date.