Ukraine recaptures territory larger than Denmark from Russian invaders

Russian forces have lost an area of captured territory larger than Denmark as they struggle to turn territorial gains into operation successes, according to military analysts.

The Kremlin's invasion has made little progress in recent months, after its troops were forced back from Kyiv in the early weeks of the war.

Vladimir Putin’s troops have only managed to seize an area the size of Andorra – an estimated one per cent of what they have lost – in the last 39 days, the latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think-tank, suggests.

It came as Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, told a conference that Russian forces had deliberately slowed down their offensive operations in Ukraine to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

Despite the apparent slow-down, Mr Shoigu insisted Russia's invasion was going according to plan and his forces would achieve their maximalist objectives.

Russia's ministry of defence has previously stated it still intends to topple the Ukrainian government despite its withdrawal from Kyiv to focus on the eastern Donbas region.

The ISW said Mr Shoigu had made his statement in an attempt to explain away the failings of Russian forces in Ukraine.

"Shoigu's statement may also represent an attempt by the Russian MoD to set information conditions to explain and excuse the negligible gains Russian forces have made in Ukraine in the last six weeks," the think-tank said.

"Russian forces are unable to translate limited tactical gains into wider operational successes, and their offensive operations in eastern Ukraine are culminating. Shoigu’s statement is likely an attempt to explain away these failings."

According to the ISW's latest assessment, Moscow has captured roughly 174 square miles of new territory since announcing an operational pause on July 16.

Russian forces, however, have managed to lose 17,375 square miles since March 21, the estimated date of Russia's deepest advance into Ukraine.

With Western weapons, Ukrainian soldiers pushed the Russians out of Kyiv and forced them to retreat to Donbas, the country's industrial heartlands.

Now with long-range rocket launchers, supplied by the US and UK, Ukraine's armed forces have managed to stall Russian advances by targeting strategically important logistical targets key to Moscow's war efforts.

Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine's defence minister, has said he expects "good news from the frontlines" before the end of the year.

"We have a chance to win sooner and cheaper in terms of Ukrainian losses, thanks to the alliance with our partners," he said in an interview with Ukrainian military TV.