Sawt Falasteen - Russian advances in Ukraine grew seven-fold in 2024, data shows

The data highlights the pressure Ukraine faces as it enters 2025, with Moscow pouring resources into its nearly three-year invasion and uncertainty hanging over future US aid for Kyiv under a Donald Trump presidency.

Much of the Russian gains came in the autumn, as they took 610 square kilometres in October and 725 square kilometres in November. Those two months saw the Russians capture the most territory since March 2022, in the early weeks of the conflict.

Russia's advance slowed in December, coming to 465 square kilometres in the first 30 days of the month.

But it is already nearly four times bigger than in the same month of the previous year and two-and-a-half times more than in December 2022.

Incumbent US President Joe Biden's administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before Trump takes office in January.

The Republican has said he will end the conflict in "24 hours" once in power, raising fears in Ukraine it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace.

- Missile hits -

Russia has launched overnight aerial attacks on Ukraine almost every day since its forces invaded in February 2022, targeting military and civilian infrastructure, including the power grid.

Moscow launched a barrage of drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight and early Tuesday, with officials conceding there were successful strikes in the east of the country and near the capital.

Authorities did not elaborate on what had been hit but in the wider Kyiv region, the governor said debris from a downed projectile had damaged a private home and wounded a woman.

Moscow said its forces had used attack drones and precision weapons in a "combined" assault on a military airfield and a munitions production facility, claiming that the targets were struck.

Ukraine has stepped up its own attacks inside Russian territory in response, and urged its Western allies to supply more air defence systems.

A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot, a Russian regional governor said earlier Tuesday.

In his New Year's Eve address Tuesday, Putin did not explicitly mention the war in Ukraine but praised Russia's soldiers for their "courage and bravery".

"You are true heroes who have undertaken the great military labour to defend Russia," he said.

- 'Everyone has one wish' -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged his war-battered country's allies to help end the invasion and bring lasting peace in 2025.

Those hopes were echoed to AFP on the streets of Kyiv ahead of the turn of the new year.

"I want peace to finally be obtained for Ukraine, for people to stop dying, for all our soldiers to return to their homes and celebrate next year and next Christmas with their families," said Kateryna Chemeryz, a teacher.

"It seems to me that everyone has one wish, one dream: that Ukraine will win, and all our territories are regained," said Tetiana, a civil servant who declined to give her family name.

The incoming US president has also vowed to end the war but has not outlined any roadmap and there are concerns a deal could come at the expense of Ukrainian territory.

Zelensky has sought to build bridges with Trump and his team, amid fears the Republican could slow vital US military or halt it entirely.

"For me personally, there is some anxiety, because I was hoping for a different outcome," Chemeryz, the teacher, said of Trump's return to the White House.

Tetiana was dismissive, saying Ukraine should work to determine its own fate "without Trump or anyone else."

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST