Experts from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have confirmed that Russia has made territorial gains in its war against Ukraine. The Russian armed forces have captured an area of 505 square kilometres since the beginning of the offensive operations in October, the ISW reported in its latest analysis, published on Thursday. Ukraine is still preventing Russia from making major tactical gains along the entire front line, the ISW says. However it warns that Russia’s “opportunities to exploit Ukrainian vulnerabilities will widen as materiel shortages persist and as Ukraine continues to gr…