Get you up to speed: Russia’s Territory Gains and Losses in Ukraine Over Four Years of War

What we know so far

Map shows how much territory Russia has gained and lost in Ukraine war | News World

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It’s been four years since Vladimir Putin launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine, sparking a war between the two nations and leaving millions of civilians and soldiers dead.

Marking the four-year anniversary today, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr  Zelensky said his country has withstood the onslaught by Russia’s bigger and better equipped army.

‘Looking back at the beginning of the invasion and reflecting on today, we have every right to say: we have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood; Putin has not achieved his goals,’ Zelensky said on social media.

‘He has not broken Ukrainians; he has not won this war.’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky makes a video address from his bunker in Kyiv, as Ukraine marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion (Picture: AFP)

Zelensky walks through his bunker in the new video (Picture: AFP)

According to Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, the past year of fighting captured just 0.79% of Ukraine’s territory.

But the broader picture is stark. Since 2014, Russia has gradually occupied more and more Ukrainian territory, without much intervention from Western powers.

First came the illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014, then the fall of parts of the eastern region of Donbas to Russian-backed separatists the same year.

Now, four years to the day into the invasion, we recap of what has happened in few years.

What did Ukraine look like in 2014?

Up until 2014, Ukraine’s borders had remained unbreeched since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

That changed overnight when Russia seized Crimea in March that year on the pretense of protecting the rights of Russian citizens and speakers in the region at the time.

A map showing Ukrainian territory that Russia seized at the beginning of 2014 (Picture: WTX News)

As much as 10,400 square miles – strategically bordering the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov – were illegally annexed and around 2.4 million people absorbed into Russia.

It was not long after that Russian-backed separatists took control of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, igniting a war that carved away more Ukrainian territory, leaving millions of Ukrainians displaced.

By the time Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022, 7% of Ukrainian territory had been lost.

When did the Ukraine war start?

Shielded by the darkness of the night, the first Russian tanks rolled into eastern Ukraine on February 24, 2022, marking the start of the full-scale war.

Dozens of missiles rained on cities all over Ukraine before dawn, meeting strong resistance straightaway, proving that – unlike Putin had famously vowed – Ukraine will not fall by the end of the week.

Soldiers later failed to take over the capital Kyiv, but committed some of the worst war atrocities in Ukraine just 20 miles on the outskirts in Bucha.

There – in mass graves – hundreds, if not thousands, of Ukrainian civilians were executed.

In the south, Russia devastated Mariupol, relentlessly bombing the city and besieging the Azovstal steel plant before taking full control in May.

Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukraine (Picture: WTX News)

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In 2023, Russia redirected its focus on entirely crippling Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and leaving millions of people without electricity during the harsh eastern winter.

Wagner mercenaries were deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine for further territorial gain.

In eastern Ukraine, the battle to save the ruined city of Bakhmut turned into a months-long bloodbath until it was largely captured in May.

Russia made steady advances in 2024 as Ukraine grappled with dwindling military aid as Western leaders debated what weapons should be allowed for use in the war.

Since last year, Russia has made some incremental gains in Ukraine, in the city of Vovchansk and the village of Oliinykove, just north of Kharkiv.

However, large swathes of the nation are still under Ukraine’s control.

How much of Ukraine does Russia currently control?

Looking at a map of Ukraine before February 2014, it is a stark reminder about how much can change in a decade during an invasion.

Currently, Russia controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, with a third of that annexed before the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Ukraine itself holds several thousand square miles of Russian land, in the border region of Kursk, which it invaded in 2024 to potentially trade during future negotiations for peace.

Away from territory gains, 3.6 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, and another 6.5 million have fled abroad.

Out of these 6.5 million refugees, 90% are women and children, with 59% of internally displaced persons being women.

At least 74% of those in Ukraine report separation from a close family member due to conflict. 

This morning, more than a dozen senior European officials arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in a show of support. But they also come without two new deals they had hoped to present to Kyiv — a new package of sanctions on Russia and a 90 billion euro loan to fund Ukraine’s defense for the next two years.

Hungary, seen as most pro-Russian country in the European Union, blocked them both. It’s a sign of how difficult it has been sometimes to maintain solidarity as the war drags on.

The UK’s Armed Forces Minister Al Carns says the war has been ‘the most defining conflict’ in decades due to the way it has revolutionized warfare and upended Europe’s security.

UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper stands with dignitaries in Independence Square during the ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

(LtoR) President of the European Council Antonio Costa, First Lady Olena Zelenska, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Finland Alexander Stubb and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stand together during the ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

‘I would never have guessed in my lifetime I would see North Korean troops fighting on the border of Europe,’ Carns told reporters on Monday. ‘Which I think is a significant warning signal to all of us.’

Carns said the conflict had brought a ‘revolution in military affairs,’ especially through the rapid development of drone technology. Drones now account for the vast majority of battlefield casualties in the war.

Western officials say that in the last three months, Russia has lost more casualties than the number of troops it recruits, a potential tipping point.

‘The cost on Russia has been almost unimaginable,’ Carns said, calling a Western estimate of 1.25 million Russian personnel killed and wounded since 2022 likely an underestimate.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the Ukrainians are ‘standing up for the freedom of us all. Their courage and strength shine in the fight against Putin’s darkness. And they give hope to those of us who want a Europe at peace.’

People gather during moment of silence in Irpin to pay tribute to victims of the Russian aggression (Picture: REUTERS)

Foreign leaders bow their heads after placing their candles during the ceremony (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, said: ‘We don’t yet know when the war will end, but how it ends will affect Sweden’s security for at least a generation to come. And that’s why our continued support is so crucial.’

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski vowed from Kyiv that his country would remain ‘steadfast in its support for the Ukrainian people and in its pursuit of a just and lasting peace.’

‘A victory parade was supposed to take place here after a few days,’ Sikorski said in an address from Kyiv referring to Russia’s initial plans of a quick takeover of Ukraine. ‘Instead, four years later, Kyiv is still defending itself.’

Meanwhile NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine’s allies will continue to militarily support the war-ravaged nation to end the war and ensure a lasting peace.

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