Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed that in September 2026 Russian forces allegedly seized 1,301 km² of Ukrainian territory. At the same time, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces suffered net territorial losses of 80.81 km² over the month.
This is stated in an ISW report.
According to Putin, in September Russian forces allegedly captured 1,301 km² of Ukrainian territory. He claimed this was 2.5 times more than the territorial gains Russia reported in previous months.
However, based on available evidence, ISW assesses that in September Russian forces suffered net territorial losses of 80.81 km². Russia captured 175.54 km², but Ukrainian forces liberated 256.35 km².
If Russian incursions into areas over which Russian troops did not establish full control are also taken into account, Russia’s net territorial losses in September totalled 175.18 km².
ISW said Putin’s assertions create a fabricated picture of the fighting and support the Kremlin’s cognitive warfare, aimed at falsely portraying Russian advances as large-scale across the entire front.
“Putin’s claims about the success of Russian forces at the front in September 2026 are so far from reality that they resemble hallucinations,” the ISW report says.
Analysts cannot determine whether Putin knows the figures he cited are false, or whether he is simply receiving fabricated data about the situation at the front.
ISW suggests the Russian dictator may be accepting the information presented to him because of a culture of lying deeply embedded in Russia’s military command structure.
- By the way, the State Border Guard Service’s “Forpost” brigade has regained more than 10 square kilometres in its defensive sector.
- In September, as part of the second season of the “Vivaldi” offensive operation, Ukrainian troops brought a further 40 km² of territory back under control.