UKRAINE, Jun. 2 — In May alone, Russian forces have lost more territories than they captured for the first time since October 2023, reported DeepSate, OSINT war monitoring group. The monitoring project also didn’t disclose the exact extent of Ukraine’s territorial gains, citing security concerns.

DeepState analysts reported that Russian forces occupied 14 square kilometers (6 square miles) last month. They occupied 725 square kilometers (326 square miles) in November 2024, which marked the peak of Russia’s territorial gains. 

On May 25, Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russia’s rate of advance has decreased from 13.2 square kilometers (5.1 square miles) per day in 2025 to 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) per day between Jan. 1 and May 21, 2026.

ISW also reported that, in 2026, Russia experiences higher battlefield losses while achieving fewer territorial gains. According to the analysts, Russia lost 9,000 more troops than it was able to replace in January 2026. Previously, Russia’s recruitment levels were consistently higher than its losses. 

DeepState indirectly supports ISW’s data about Russian losses. According to the monitoring group, despite Russia increasing the number of assaults on Ukrainian positions to a record level of around 7,000 in May only, these attacks are often carried out by only one or two soldiers. 

Earlier, The Economist reported that Russian losses stand at around 35,000 soldiers per month, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, claimed Russia has lost more than 145,000 troops since the beginning of 2026, which amounts to 29,000 per month on average.

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