Peskov Was Caught Lying

In August, the Ukrainian Armed Forces recaptured more territory than Russian forces had seized.

Russia does not need a military escalation, as the Russian army continues to advance in Ukraine even without one, said Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Bloomberg report regarding a possible intensification of Russian strikes on Ukraine.

“Ukraine is trying to strike at our economic infrastructure and our trade infrastructure, thereby provoking retaliatory measures on our part, and this will be a harsh response. But if you’re talking about military escalation, we simply don’t need that, because we’re making progress anyway,” Peskov said.

He was commenting on a Bloomberg report stating that the Kremlin is preparing for a possible escalation of strikes against Ukraine, as it considers peace talks to have reached an impasse. According to the agency’s sources, Moscow is considering intensifying strikes with conventional ballistic missiles on Kyiv—including the center of the Ukrainian capital—and on infrastructure facilities in other cities.

Data from the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState shows that Russian troops are indeed continuing to seize Ukrainian territory, but the pace of their advance slowed sharply in 2026, according to an analysis by The Insider.

As of August 25, according to the DeepState map, approximately 116,900 square kilometers—or 19.4% of Ukraine’s territory—was under Russian control.

According to the project’s annual statistics, in 2026 the area of territory controlled by Russia increased by approximately 787 square kilometers, which corresponds to about 0.13% of Ukraine’s total territory within its internationally recognized borders. By comparison, in 2025, Russian forces increased the area under their control by approximately 4,300 square kilometers, and in 2024, by 3,300 square kilometers.

Thus, in 2025, Russia captured an average of about 11.9 square kilometers of territory per day, whereas in 2026, as of August 25, the average was about 3.3 square kilometers per day. The average rate of advance has slowed by approximately 3.6 times.

Monthly data also indicate a slowdown in the offensive. In January 2026, the Russian Armed Forces expanded the territory under their control by approximately 245 square kilometers; in February, by 126 square kilometers; in March, by 160 square kilometers; and in April, by 141 square kilometers. In May, the increase fell to 14 square kilometers; in June, it was 84 square kilometers; and in July, it was about 36 square kilometers.

In August, DeepState is currently recording a negative balance for Russia: as of August 25, the area of territory controlled by Russian forces was approximately 18.6 square kilometers smaller than at the end of July.

That said, the current rate of change is still higher than in 2023, when the front line remained virtually unchanged: by the end of that year, the area under Russian occupation, according to DeepState statistics, had increased by approximately 187 square kilometers.

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