The world spent a year tracking news about a conflict that upended international balance sheets: the war in Ukraine, the toll in lives, the wounded, and the millions who fled. The reality on the ground diverged from the Kremlin’s initial plan—rapidly seizing control and overthrowing the Ukrainian government. President Volodymyr Zelensky led a determined resistance, while Russian forces were pressed back from key eastern and southern pockets, and President Vladimir Putin was compelled to order a partial mobilization to confront Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
On the map, the course of events shows a war reaching a stalemate, a standstill lasting roughly six months. According to the Institute for War Studies, a turning point occurred mid-August when Russian troops briefly advanced to capture ground totaling about 1,623.9 square kilometers in Ukraine. Since then, Putin’s only notable gains came earlier in February, amounting to approximately 496 square kilometers.
Progress of both sides, week by week
The chart below summarizes changes in territorial control in Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, the date Russia invaded, to the present. Overall, ground movement has slowed dramatically since mid-November, with the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kherson area marking a critical moment in the widening stalemate.
In the early weeks of the conflict, Russian forces appeared close to overwhelming large portions of Ukrainian territory, particularly in the Donbas region in the east. From that point onward, the pace of Russian advances waned week by week, though there were periods when Ukrainian forces captured land on a near-weekly basis, especially through the course of 2022 and into 2023. After those early gains, the balance shifted decisively toward Ukrainian counteractions in subsequent months.
Three pivotal moments defined Zelensky’s counteroffensive. At the start of April last year, Ukraine regained control over more than twenty-six thousand square kilometers within a single week, forcing Russia to retreat from northern areas. In mid-September, a further recovery of about six thousand square kilometers marked a significant setback for Russia at Kherson, contributing to the withdrawal from the city on November 10 and the loss of nearby territories. A local rebound of approximately three thousand five hundred square kilometers followed, reflecting ongoing skirmishes and reversals on the ground.
The following loop provides a way to check the status of each side on the map at three separate dates in the war timeline.
Dead civilians month after month
Another data point highlights the human cost of the Ukraine conflict during its first year. In the absence of a single, definitive official source, several international organizations and non-governmental groups have attempted to estimate civilian deaths. The interactive map below shows civilian casualties month by month, with details on dates, locations, and the numbers affected. Users can pause the interactive, zoom in, and examine the specific events as they unfold on the ground.
Taken together, the available maps and datasets indicate that civilian losses have been heaviest in the northern regions and, most notably, in the Donbas area in the east and southeast. By contrast, some central and especially western parts of Ukraine, including areas near the borders with Poland and Moldova, show relatively fewer or no deaths over the same period.