Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that more than 400 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory had been seized since the beginning of this year, according to AFP, which noted that Russian forces are managing to seize the initiative before Ukrainian soldiers, who are in short supply. ammunition.

Serhiy ShoiguPhoto: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / UPI / Profimedia

“In total, since the beginning of the year, 403 km2 of territory in the new regions of the Russian Federation have come under our control,” Serhii Shoigu said on Tuesday during a military meeting, according to a press release of his ministry. reports Agerpres.

He added that the Russian military continues to “press Ukrainian units to the west.”

France Presse reminds us that Russia has announced the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Kherson, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, which it still only partially controls.

In recent months, the Russian army claimed to have captured several villages and especially the eastern town of Avdiyivka, one of Ukraine’s strongholds in recent years.

Russian soldiers have not won major victories, large swathes of the front remain blocked, but they appear to have benefited from the difficulties of Kyiv, which is facing ammunition shortages, recruitment problems and dwindling Western aid.

Last week, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated that since last October, Russia has conquered 505 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory.

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