Russia loses an average of 146 soldiers to capture one square kilometer of land in Ukraine. Surveillance footage disproves Russia’s version of an attack on Kryvyi Rih that killed 20. The Kremlin responds to Trump’s calls to halt attacks on Ukraine.
Russia loses 146 soldiers on average to capture one square kilometer of land
The rate of Russian advances in Ukraine has been steadily declining since November 2024, in part due to successful Ukrainian counterattacks in eastern Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in the latest update. The paragraphs below are quoted from the report.
The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported on April 5 that Russian forces advanced 143 square kilometers in Ukraine in March 2025 as Ukrainian forces conducted successful tactical counterattacks in the Pokrovsk direction.
The UK MoD reported that the rate of Russian advances in Ukraine has decreased each month since November 2024, as Russian forces seized roughly 730 square kilometers in November 2024, 393 square kilometers in December 2024, 326 square kilometers in January 2025, and 195 square kilometers in February 2025.
[This means that in March 2025, Russia occupied five times less land than in November 2024, according to a count by the New Voice of Ukraine (NV).]ISW has observed geolocated footage to concur in the assessment that the monthly rate of Russian advances in Ukraine has decreased since November 2024.
ISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that Russian forces in Ukraine gained roughly 627 square kilometers in November 2024, 569 square kilometers in December 2024, 427 square kilometers in January 2025, 354 square kilometers in February 2025, and 203 square kilometers in March 2025.
[This means that in March 2025, Russia occupied three times less land than it did in November 2024, according to NV’s count.]The UK MoD likely uses a different methodology or sources to assess Russian advances in Ukraine, but the UK MoD’s report is consistent with evidence ISW has observed of decreasing monthly Russian advances between November 2024 and March 2025.
Russia is losing an average of 146 soldiers, a tank, two armored fighting vehicles and 4.5 guns to capture one square kilometer of land in Ukraine, the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of forces said on Monday.
The calculations are based on Russia’s losses in the area of responsibility for Khortytsia, in the country’s east, in the first three months of the year. “Russians are paying a price too high for the Kremlin’s whims,” the statement reads.
Russia has lost more than 925,000 soldiers killed or wounded since the invasion.
Surveillance footage disproves Russia’s version of attack on Kryvyi Rih that killed 20
French television channel France 24 has released surveillance video from inside a restaurant showing the moment a missile strikes a residential area of Kryvyi Rih on April 4. The attack killed 20 people, including nine children. Russia’s defense ministry acknowledged the strike, claiming that the missile had targeted a restaurant where Ukrainian commanders and Western military instructors were meeting. The security camera footage obtained by France 24 disproves Russia’s account of the events.
No soldiers are seen in the video.
“The Russians say they were targeting soldiers but there are no soldiers here,” said former service member Oleh, whose windows overlook the playground affected by the strike. “It’s just so awful. So many children died.”
France 24’s correspondent, Gulliver Cragg, visited the RoseMarine restaurant near the impact site and discovered no evidence of an alleged military presence there at the moment of the strike.
The restaurant’s owner, Valeria Belikova, told France 24 that the venue was hosting a meeting of beauty professionals when the strike happened. Belikova herself was sitting outside the restaurant with a friend.
“We have just hosted a beauty forum: pedicurists, manicurists. We were sitting outside chatting, and then there was an explosion. I didn’t feel the injuries to my leg and hip at first. I just law Lidia was covered in blood,” she said.
Residents of the city believe they are being targeted because of its connection to Zelenskyi. Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of the Ukrainian president.
A Russian ballistic missile strike on the city on Friday claimed the lives of 20 people, including nine children. More than 70 others were injured. Russia said the strike killed 85 Ukrainian military personnel and foreign officers.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces disproved Russia’s claims. “Russian forces struck Kryvyi Rih with a Iskander-M ballistic missile with a cluster warhead designed to maximize casualties and the area affected,” it said in a statement on Friday. “The missile struck a residential neighborhood and children’s playground.”
Reacting to Russia’s attack on Kryvyi Rih, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink said on X she was “horrified” by the strike, adding: “This is why the war must end.” She made no mention of Russia.
Addressing the nation on Saturday, President Zelenskyi said that it was “wrong and dangerous to keep silent about the fact that it is Russia that is killing children with ballistic (missiles). It only incites the scumbags in Moscow to continue the war and further ignore diplomacy.”
On Sunday, the national day of mourning for the victims of the attack, Brink acknowledged Russia’s responsibility for the strike. “We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine on this day of national mourning after a Russian missile attack in Krivvy Rih killed 20, including 9 children,” she said in a post to X.
As of Monday morning, 33 people are still being treated in hospital of whom 18 remain in a critical condition, including two children. Kryvyi Rih is observing three days of mourning for the victims of what appears to be Russia’s deadliest attack on the city so far.
“The incident is the deadliest single strike harming children which the Office has verified since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,” the UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine said in a statement.
Kremlin responds to Trump’s calls to halt attacks on Ukraine
President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. was in talks with Russia in an attempt to convince it to stop “the bombing” of Ukraine.
“We are talking to Russia. We would like them to stop,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. “I don’t like the bombing, the bombing goes on and on, and every week thousands of young people being killed,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Trump also talked about how he was “100 per cent” sure that the war wouldn’t have happened had he been in office.
Responding to Trump’s claims, Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: “President Putin does support the idea of the need for a ceasefire, but before that a number of questions must be answered.”
“These questions are hanging in the air, and so far, no one has given answers to them,” he added.
Peskov said the questions requiring answers are linked to “the lack of control over the Kyiv regime and the inability of the Kyiv regime to control the actions of a number of extremist nationalist units that simply do not take orders from Kyiv.”
“This is also connected to Kyiv’s plans for further militarization. All these nuances stay on the agenda as before. And while we share the idea that a ceasefire is needed as soon as possible, we must ensure our interests and clarify the aspects I have mentioned,” Peskov said.