Three Years of Russia's Full-Scale War Against Ukraine, in Maps

The war in Ukraine began in February 2014, and since then, Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and parts of its two regions—Donetsk and Luhansk—have been under illegal occupation. Before the full-scale invasion, Russia already controlled 7.3% of Ukrainian territory, 43,900 square kilometers.

After the onset of the full-scale invasion, the Russian army rapidly advanced on three fronts: the Southern direction from Crimea, the Eastern direction from the occupied territories and Russia, and from the North—through Belarus and Russia. At its peak in March 2022, Russia controlled up to 26% of Ukrainian territory, the highest amount in the entire war.

Successful actions by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, maneuver warfare, rapid unexpected attacks, poor preparation of the Russian army, and their weak logistics enabled Ukraine to liberate its Northern regions—Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy—by spring of 2022. In September, thanks to effective deception and distraction tactics—with Ukraine saying it would launch a counter-offensive in the Kherson region and not Kharkiv—Ukraine managed to nearly fully expel Russian forces from the Kharkiv region. In just two weeks, Russian troops were pushed back by tens of kilometers, and Ukrainian forces liberated the cities of Izium and Kupiansk.

This remarkable operation continued to build momentum. Two months later, Ukraine launched a swift offensive in the Kherson region, liberating the right bank from Russian occupation in November 2022. To halt further Ukrainian advances, Russian forces committed an act of terrorism by destroying the Kakhovka Dam, causing significant destruction and environmental damage.

During 2022 and 2023, Ukraine reclaimed about 10% of the territory occupied by Russia in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion in February and March 2022—around 43,000 square kilometers.

In 2024, two significant events occurred. First, Russia attempted to open a new offensive front in the Kharkiv region but was quickly stopped, advancing only a few kilometers. Meanwhile, in August 2024, Ukraine launched a rapid offensive in the Kursk region. At its peak, Ukraine controlled over a hundred settlements and more than 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory. For the first time since World War II, fighting occurred on Russian soil.

Overall, 2024 was a challenging year for Ukraine due to two simultaneous factors. On one hand, there were delays in artillery and equipment supplies from partners. On the other hand, Russia increased its troop numbers to 600,000—compared to fewer than 200,000 during the 2022 offensive. At the time of this report, about 113,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory remain occupied, roughly 19% of Ukraine's total area.

Russian forces have advanced in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, approaching the strategic city of Pokrovsk—a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces—and nearing the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukrainian forces are currently managing to hold back the Russian onslaught and are even launching successful counterattacks.

It is worth recalling that in February 2024, Russia planned a blitzkrieg, aiming to capture Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, in three days. Yet, after three years, Russia has failed to fully occupy any Ukrainian region, has been completely expelled from several areas, and tens of thousands of square kilometers have been liberated. Comparing the Russian army's gains from March 2022 to February 2025, the achievements of the so-called "second most powerful army in the world" appear far less significant.