Russian advance is slowing — and ISW’s numbers prove the Kremlin’s demands on Donetsk have no basis on the battlefield
ISW found Russian forces seized 29% less territory in the six months to March 2026 than in the same period a year earlier, advancing at 10.66 km² per day versus 14.9 — a pace that makes Russia's two-month ultimatum on Donetsk Oblast a cognitive warfare tool, not a military reality.
