US think tank compares Putin's reports of terrain gains to "hallucinations"

A few days ago, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin announced the complete conquest of Donbass in less than a year and a half - he assumes that this will happen much faster given the Russian advance. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) now contradicts this information. According to the US think tank, Russia lost more ground in Ukraine than it gained in September.

The institute announced on the X platform that the loss was around 81 square kilometers. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's claims about Russian gains in territory on the front in September are so far from reality "that they seem like hallucinations."

The ISW could not judge whether Putin knew that the figures he presented were wrong, it said. It could also be that he provides “fictitious information about the situation at the front.” The “culture of lying” is deeply rooted in the Russian military leadership. Putin claimed that Russian forces had conquered more than 1,300 square kilometers in September.

In fact, the front line has remained largely unchanged in many sections for several months. In recent weeks, the Russian military has increased attacks against Ukrainian cities. The Russian Air Force is particularly targeting large urban centers such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa and are attacking them with combat drones or ballistic missiles. With Western help, Ukraine has been defending itself against a large-scale Russian invasion for more than four and a half years.

People in Ukraine fear the worst winter of war without electricity, water and food, reports SPIEGEL reporter Ann-Dorit Boy. And she has an assessment of what could lead to the end of the war. Hear more here.