On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The countries had already been in low-grade conflict since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine. Russian forces advance quickly to the outskirts of Kyiv but are eventually repelled from the region by a well-prepared Ukrainian military and a hostile local population.
Read how Grid's Global Team anticipated Putin's troubles before the war began:
As Russian forces leave central Ukraine, the Kremlin shifts its focus to the east and south of the country. Most of the fighting now shifts to those regions as well.
This phase of the war will see Russian troops consolidate control of the Mariupol and Luhansk regions but be driven from Kharkiv by increasingly bold and well-armed Ukrainian forces.
Notes
On the map, "Invaded by Russia" is a combination of territory considered under full Russian control and territory where Russian military activity has been reported. These correspond to the categories the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) calls "Assessed Russian Control" and "Assessed Russian Advance," respectively. The ISW's definition of territorial control is based on "standard US military doctrinal definitions of tactical mission tasks as well as centuries-old conventions for displaying conventional military operations on terrain," as explained in its methodology guide.
"Reclaimed by Ukraine" is all territory that was previously considered "Invaded by Russia" on the calendar. It includes territory that was liberated by Ukrainian forces and territory that Russian forces left on their own.
There may be small discrepancies between event dates and map territory changes due to the lag in ISW data collection and release.
For map clarity, Russia's detached Kaliningrad Oblast is not colored red despite being a part of Russia.
Source: Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project
Credits for images used in this project can be viewed by clicking here.
Joshua Keating contributed reporting.
Design and illustration by Mae Decena and art direction by Shaylyn Esposito.
Thanks to Lillian Barkley for copy editing this article.