Not that CNN is a good source, the reason I posted the CNN link is because it is indicative that CNN is concluding this publicly and emphatically. It shows the calculus of US mainstream media is changing towards Ukraine, which is not something it has really done for quite awhile.
To be fair, it's a little more nuanced than that, since much of that dirt has people living on it. But the crucial point is that, up to a point, lost territory can be regained. Lost manpower, materiel and political power are much harder to recover. Territorial gains only really matter if you can make them stick, especially when Ukraine can effectively, and literally, move their manufacturing into friendly territory beyond their own borders.
But you're absolutely right that Russia has essentially been claiming territory largely for the optics of it. It's gotten so bad that there are now credible reports of Russian units basically running the Ukrainian lines, getting as deep as they can before planting a flag and posting a photo (which will immediately be geolocated by OSINT sources) and then running back home.