Russian forces expanded their control over Ukrainian territory by 9.76 square kilometers last week, significantly less than in June and early July. However, Ukraine's Defense Forces were unable to reduce the overall area under Russian occupation through their counteroffensive operations, according to maps published by the OSINT project DeepState.
On the Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk axes in the Donetsk region, Russian forces captured only 6.92 square kilometers last week, compared with 17.33 square kilometers the previous week, meaning the pace of their advance slowed by more than half.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian counteroffensive along the border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions continued. In the area of the village of Filiia, 6.69 square kilometers shifted from Russian-occupied territory into the so-called "penetration zone" (gray zone). Ukraine's Defense Forces also cleared 5.42 square kilometers between the villages of Filiia and Ivanivka, which had previously been part of the gray zone, establishing stable control over the area. During the previous week, Ukrainian forces had reduced the occupied area in the same sector by 43.37 square kilometers.
In addition, Russian forces resumed offensive operations on the Huliaipole axis, capturing 5.75 square kilometers near Zaliznychne, and on the Kharkiv axis, where they advanced 3.78 square kilometers near Strilecha, close to the Russian border. No Russian advances were recorded in these sectors during the previous week.
The penetration zone decreased on the Huliaipole and Sloviansk axes but expanded slightly elsewhere, with the largest increase recorded on the Dobropillia axis in the urban area of Kostiantynivka, where Russian forces failed to expand their area of stable control last week. Russian forces continue to control the southern and eastern outskirts of the city, while most urban neighborhoods remain in the gray zone. The northern part of Kostiantynivka remains under the control of Ukraine's Defense Forces.
Overall, the penetration zone increased by 9.95 square kilometers over the course of the week.
No significant changes were recorded on other sectors of the front.
According to DeepState's data, both the area under Russian occupation and the penetration zone increased by an average of approximately 1.4 square kilometers per day last week.
