Ukraine wants Russia to pay for every square kilometer it takes with at least 200 losses — and it’s been hitting its number

• Ukraine aims to kill at least 200 Russians for every square kilometer captured by Moscow.

• It hit that target as its forces have thwarted Russian advances on the battlefield in recent months.

• Ukraine’s defense chief attributed this to medium-range attacks and Russia’s loss of Starlink.

Ukraine aims to punish at least 200 people Russian losses For every square kilometer Moscow captured on the battlefield. Gains have become increasingly costly for Russian forces in recent months.

“Every kilometer of advance costs the enemy disproportionately high losses,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told reporters recently to discuss the results of combat operations so far this year.

The Russian army killed or wounded 67 soldiers per square kilometer in October 2025. Fedorov said that this number increased to 165 in January, 244 in February, 254 in March and 179 in April, adding that Moscow suffered 35,203 casualties in April alone.

“Our strategic goal is to inflict at least 200 enemy losses for every square kilometer of progress,” he said. “The dynamics show that Ukraine is significantly slowing down the enemy’s advance and gradually regaining the initiative. At the same time, we are increasing active operations and liberating territory.”

Fedorov attributed the increase in losses in Russia to several factors, including Elon Musk’s decision. Disable Starlink Satellite internet service for Russian forces in February. The defense minister added that Moscow will not be able to replace this capability, which will allow Ukraine to take advantage of the situation on the battlefield.

Another factor is Ukraine’s effort to build an arsenal. medium-range attack dronesIt strikes Russian targets at operational depth that would prevent their forces from conducting offensive operations on the front lines.

“We began to actively supply medium attack unmanned aerial vehicles, which have become one of the most important technological advantages on the front line,” Fedorov said.

Analysts at the Institute for War Studies, a US-based think tank, assessed that these developments led to a steady decline. Russia’s pace of progress It has been on the battlefield since November 2025. They also cited Ukraine’s repeated ground counterattacks as a contributing factor.

ISW conflict analysts reported In early May, “Russian forces suffered a net loss of territory controlled in the Ukrainian theater in April 2026 for the first time since the occupation of Kiev” 2024 attack Kursk region of Russia.

They said Russia lost control of 116 square kilometers of territory in April, but that figure does not take into account areas where its troops briefly infiltrated Ukrainian territory.

Russia occupied about 27 percent of Ukraine a few weeks after the missile was launched. full scale invasion In February 2022, it was a peak from which he has not been able to return since. Four years later, in March 2026, that figure fell below 20 percent. ISW data.

Colonel Joby Rimmer, a senior military adviser to the United Kingdom, said in late April that Russia had suffered approximately 1.3 million battlefield losses during this period.

Ukraine suffered an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 casualties in that war, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S.-based think tank.

Ukrainian authorities have signaled their intention to increasingly replace humans robotic systemsincluding drones, near the front lines wherever possible, especially for logistics missions.

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