ISW: Putin Overstated Russian Gains in Ukraine 45 Times Over

Russian President Vladimir Putin has greatly exaggerated the successes of his army in the war against Ukraine, according to a report by the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The institute, which analyses the military situation and tracks the course of the war, says the real results are 45 times smaller than the Kremlin claims.

What Putin claims

According to figures given by Putin, Russian forces have captured 6,500 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of 2026. He also cites 310 populated places that have supposedly come under Russian control in that period.

What ISW concludes

ISW's assessment is that these numbers do not reflect reality. The institute believes the occupiers' actual achievements on the front are 45 times more modest than those Putin describes. This points to a very large gap between Kremlin statements and the situation on the battlefield.

The report matters because it allows publicly stated figures from Russia's leadership to be compared with an independent US research institute's estimate of how far the Russian army has really advanced.

The source does not explain how ISW calculated the real figures, so the exact amount of territory Russia has taken according to the institute is not given here.