Russia's Ukraine Advance Slowest In Over 100 Years of War, Including WWI Trenches

For over a century, the benchmark for military incompetence and futility has been trench warfare on the Western Front of World War I. Battles such as Verdun, the Somme and Ypres became the hallmark of failed strategy and leadership - until now. 

Recent research has revealed that the performance of the Russian military in Ukraine over the past two years has been even worse - its progress slower - than that of the German, British and French armies of WWI. JL

Kieran Kelly reports in The Telegraph:

Russia's army is advancing in Ukraine at the slowest pace in more than 100 years of warfare. Putin’s forces have advanced between 15 and 70 metres per day since early 2024, slower than many campaigns during the First World War including the Battle of the Somme, where British and French forces advanced 80 metres per day. After two years of fighting, Russian forces have moved 10 kilometres and have failed to take the Donetsk city of Chasiv Yar. The Russians have sustained more than 1.2 million casualties. 

Russia’s army is advancing in Ukraine at the slowest pace seen in more than 100 years of warfare, new analysis shows.

Vladimir Putin’s forces have advanced between 15 and 70 metres per day since early 2024, slower than many campaigns during the First World War, according to a report from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Western intelligence believes Russia has also sustained more than 1.2 million casualties since the war began four years ago.

The findings come as Moscow continues to try to gain the upper hand during US-led peace talks by claiming that the fall of Ukraine is inevitable.

Putin has been trying to convince the Trump administration to force Kyiv into ceding the remainder of the Donbas region that is not currently under Russian control.

However, the slow pace of Russia’s advance is most evident in eastern Ukraine, the report found.

Moscow’s offensive on Chasiv Yar which began in Feb 2024, has seen Putin’s forces advance at an average rate of 15 metres per day, slower than a snail.

After two years of fighting, Russian forces have moved 10 kilometres and have failed to take the Donetsk city.

Around 150km away in Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Russian forces have advanced at a rate of about 23 metres per day since the offensive began in Nov 2024.

 

Moscow claimed to have taken the city in December but it was quickly refuted when Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, filmed himself visiting troops inside the city.

The most illustrative battle, however, centres around Pokrovsk, the key logistical hub dubbed the “gateway to Donetsk”. It has experienced intense fighting since the summer of 2024, but Ukraine has managed to hold on to a small pocket of territory in the city.

It means Russia is advancing slower than some First World War battles,

including the Battle of the Somme, where French forces advanced around 80 metres per day.

In total, Russian forces are estimated to have taken 0.6 per cent of Ukrainian territory in 2024 and 0.8 per cent in 2025.

Russian forces control some 120,000 square kilometres – roughly 20 per cent of Ukraine – including Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions seized before 2022.

CSIS estimates that about 75,000 square kilometres were captured during the ongoing conflict, which began nearly four years ago.

“Despite claims of battlefield momentum in Ukraine, the data shows that Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is increasingly a declining power,” CSIS said in its annual assessment.

“These results fall decisively short of Moscow’s goal to militarily conquer Ukraine,” the report continued.

The annual report was released after a fresh round of peace talks took place between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi last week.

US officials said the talks were “productive” but have since suggested that Ukraine may be required to cede territory to Russia if it wants American security guarantees.

Sources told the Financial Times that any security guarantees were contingent on Kyiv striking a deal with Moscow, which has demanded significant territorial concessions.

Ukraine, however, wants the US to fully commit to providing security guarantees before it considers giving up any land.

Washington believes Ukraine must give up the remainder of the Donbas for the war to end