Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that its forces had taken control of two villages in eastern Ukraine, Kolodyazi in the Donetsk region and Vorone in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the latest advances in its full-scale invasion.
As the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated, Russian forces are currently advancing an average of 15 to 16 square kilometers into Ukrainian territory each day. “Russian forces have been working on eroding Ukraine’s ability to defend its logistic lines since Spring 2025 and those efforts are paying dividends now,” said George Barros, ISW Russia team lead and senior analyst.
Since starting its invasion three years ago, Moscow has slowly expanded its territorial control, with recent months revealing incremental gains in Ukraine’s east. Russia now occupies around 20% of the country’s territory.
While the U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that territorial swaps could help bring an end to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected it. He has repeatedly declared that Ukraine will not give up any land in exchange for peace.
