Russia lost ground in October and took its heaviest losses of the war

Ukraine counted 54,400 Russian soldiers killed or wounded in one month. Russian forces advanced only in the Sumy and Zaporizhia regions.

The Ukrainian General Staff counted 54,400 Russian soldiers killed or seriously wounded, the war's highest monthly toll and the fourth straight month above 40,000.

These losses come on a front longer than 1,000 kilometres. Le Grand Continent calculates that about 300 square kilometres changed hands in October, gains and losses combined. The Institute for the Study of War assesses that Russia has lost the initiative in much of the theatre, though it still holds it near Dobropillya.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces advanced in October only in the Sumy and Zaporizhia regions. They lost ground everywhere else, including Donetsk, their priority objective. Le Grand Continent reports Russia lost about 60 square kilometres east of Lyman in Luhansk oblast and along its border with Donetsk. It also lost 41.6 square kilometres in the Donetsk region, where Russia concentrates its main offensive effort.

Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi defeated Russia's attempt to build the northern pincer of a planned wide encirclement of the Fortress Belt, the Institute for the Study of War reported. Ukrainian commander Biletskyi said Russia had temporarily abandoned its plan for a frontal assault on Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Druzhivka, although it plans to resume it. On November 2, the Ukrainian General Staff reported no assaults in the Kramatorsk, Oleksandrivka and Prydniprovske sectors.

Zelenskyy said on October 23: "Our soldiers have liberated more territory since the beginning of autumn than the Russians have managed to capture." Ukraine estimates more than 350,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded this year. The estimate is Kyiv's own, not a neutral count.