Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin claimed that in September, Russian troops seized more than 1,300 km² of Ukrainian territory; however, these claims differ significantly from the actual data on the situation at the front...
Analysts drew attention to Putin’s statement on October 1 during a meeting of the Valdai Club. He claimed that in September 2026 alone, Russian troops seized 1,301 km² of Ukrainian territory—2.5 times more than Russia’s claimed territorial gains in previous months...
At the same time, the ISW analyzed the available evidence and concluded that in September 2026, Russian forces suffered net territorial losses of 80.81 km². And if one also takes into account the Russian troops’ advances into areas over which they have not established full control, Russia’s net territorial losses in September amounted to 175.18 km², analysts note.
“Putin’s absurd statements continue to paint a fabricated picture of the fighting, supporting the Kremlin’s cognitive warfare aimed at falsely portraying the Russian offensive as large-scale across the entire battlefield,” the analysts write.
The ISW notes that it cannot assess whether Putin is aware of the inaccuracy of the figures he cites or whether he simply accepts the fabricated data on the course of hostilities provided to him by the Russian military leadership—data that is fed to him through a culture of deception deeply ingrained in the Russian military command structure.
