Putin says Russia has captured nearly 5,000 square km in Ukraine this year

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian forces had captured almost 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of land in Ukraine in 2025 and that Moscow retained complete strategic initiative on the battlefield. Putin, addressing a meeting with Russian top military commanders, said Ukrainian forces were retreating in all sectors of the front. "At this time, the Russian armed forces fully hold the strategic initiative," Putin told the meeting in northwestern Russia, according to a Kremlin transcript.