Russian forces have advanced along the front line near settlements in three regions, according to a Ukrainian open-source project, as maps reveal the latest developments in the war.
In recent weeks, Moscow's forces have gained momentum in Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, launching a push on May 10 in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia. This advance has been partly facilitated by Ukrainian shortages of ammunition and equipment. Despite the Ukrainian General Staff describing the front-line situation as "tense, but under control," the Telegram channel Deep State reported Russian advances toward a total of 10 villages, including two in Kharkiv Oblast and others in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Live maps showed the extent of the Russian push toward Robotyne and Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, as well as six villages in the Donetsk region.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also detailed Russia's latest advances. An update on Sunday included a graphic showing Russian forces advancing in central and northern Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, just over the Russian border. Kharkiv's deputy governor Roman Semenukha told Ukrainian television on Monday that despite Russian assaults, Kyiv's forces still control about 60 percent of the town.
The ISW reported that Russian forces had also advanced west and southwest of Donetsk City. In Zaporizhzhia, offensive operations continued to clear Ukrainian forces from Robotyne. This comes as Ukraine awaits further military supplies from the West, amid anticipation over whether a $61 billion U.S. aid package passed by Congress can turn the tide in Kyiv's favor. In recent months, Ukrainian forces have had to conserve artillery and other resources on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, a new mobilization law that came into force on May 18 aims to replenish dwindling troop numbers in an attempt to resist Russian advances. So far this year, Russian forces have seized around 800 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, compared with the 600 square kilometers gained in the whole of 2023.
"The stark military discrepancies between Ukraine and Russia are glaring," Leon Hartwell, senior associate at the London School of Economics think tank LSE IDEAS, told Newsweek. "Traditionally, a three-to-one superiority is deemed necessary for successful offensive maneuvers, a threshold Ukraine currently lacks."
"Since last year, Ukraine has been outmatched by Russia by a factor of five-to-one in terms of artillery and seven-to-one in terms of drones," Hartwell said. "The present circumstances may even be more unfavorable. Consequently, Ukraine finds itself predominantly on the defensive, but with weakened defensive capabilities."
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