In April 2026, the Russian army lost more territory than it captured for the first time in a long time

In April 2026, Russian forces for the first time in a long period recorded not an increase but a net reduction in controlled area along the front line in Ukraine of 116 sq. km, according to a new assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The last similar case was observed in August 2024, when the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) launched an operation in Kursk Oblast, after which Russian units lost positions in some areas and were forced to reorganize their defenses.

The report notes that the pace of the Russian offensive has been steadily declining since November 2025, driven by active counterattacks by the AFU and targeted strikes on logistics routes and rear infrastructure that are forcing the enemy to shift to defensive operations.

Among the factors weakening Russia’s offensive capabilities, analysts name:

• systematic blocking of Starlink in occupied territories, which degrades communications and coordination;
• restrictions on Telegram, which have disrupted horizontal interaction between units;
• strikes by the AFU on depots and command posts, which have exacerbated the logistics crisis.

Weather has been an additional brake on mechanized operations: a severe winter and spring rains churned the soils and turned field routes into a trap for armored vehicles, reducing the maneuverability of Russian units.

ISW separately draws attention to Moscow’s information narratives, which try to present advances into ‘gray zones’ as full-fledged gains, but the aggregated figures indicate the opposite.

• Over the period November 2025 — April 2026, Russian forces captured a total of 1443 sq. km.
• In the same period a year earlier the figure was 2368 sq. km.
• The average rate of advance in 2026 was only 2.9 sq. km per day versus 9.76 sq. km per day in 2025.

Analysts emphasize that even in areas of so-called new gains, the level of actual Russian control is minimal; most of these territories remain disputed and vulnerable to AFU counterattacks.

Earlier we wrote:

• Ukraine recaptured more territory in February than Russia captured
• Ukraine liberated 201 square kilometers in five days and achieved the largest advance in 2.5 years
• Without Starlink — without command: Russia’s small assault-group tactics have collapsed
• Western analysts: the loss ratio between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian army astonishes the world
• The AFU expanded a bridgehead in Kursk Oblast, while Russia advanced in Donbas