A still image, taken from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry, shows what it said to be Russian soldiers waving a flag following the capture of Ukraine’s Yablunivka (Yablonovka) settlement in the Donetsk region in the course of Russia-Ukraine military conflict, in this image from video released August 12, 2025. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via Reuters
The Russian Army made its biggest 24-hour advance into Ukraine in over a year on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) just ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, according to an AFP analysis of data from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War.
The Russian Army took or claimed 110 square kilometres (42.5 square miles) on August 12 compared to the previous day. It was the most since late May 2024.
In recent months, Moscow has typically taken five or six days to progress at such a pace, although Russian advances have accelerated in recent weeks.
The U.S. and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, are to meet in Alaska on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday that Russian troops had advanced by up to 10 kilometres (six miles) near the eastern coal mining town of Dobropillia, but that Kyiv would soon “destroy them.”
Russia said Wednesday that it had taken two villages close to Dobropillia.
About 70% of Russia’s advances in Ukraine so far this year are in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in September 2022.
As of August 12, Moscow controlled or claimed to control 79 percent of the region, up from 62 percent a year ago.
The Russian Army has also been attempting to seize the mining town of Pokrovsk for more than 18 months, following its capture of Bakhmut in May 2023.
The last two major cities held by Kyiv in the region are also at risk. They are Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which is an important logistical hub for the front.
Russian progress in Ukraine has accelerated every month since April.
Between August 12, 2024 and August 12, 2025, the Russian army captured more than 6,100 square kilometres, four times more than the previous year, according to the AFP analysis of the institute’s data.
However, these Russian advances account for less than 1 percent of pre-war Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and Donbass.
Russia currently has full or partial control over 19 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Published – August 13, 2025 09:25 pm IST
