Russia makes biggest 24-hour Ukraine advance in over a year

The Russian army recorded its largest 24-hour territorial gain in Ukraine in more than a year on Tuesday, just days before the Trump-Putin summit, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

On August 12, Russian forces captured or claimed 110 square kilometres (42.5 square miles) of territory compared with the previous day — the biggest daily advance since late May 2024.

Such progress has typically taken Moscow five to six days in recent months, but Russian gains have accelerated in recent weeks. The US and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, are set to meet in Alaska on Friday.

On Wednesday, Moscow announced the capture of two villages near Dobropillia, a former coal-mining town in eastern Ukraine still under Kyiv’s control.

“The settlements of Suvorovo and Nikanorivka in the Donetsk People’s Republic have been liberated,” Russia’s defence ministry said on social media, referring to the eastern Donetsk region.