After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Russian military and
Russian proxy forces further occupied additional Ukrainian territory. By early April, Russian forces
withdrew from Northern Ukraine, including the capital
Kyiv, after stagnating progress amid fierce Ukrainian resistance in order to focus on consolidating control over Eastern and Southern Ukraine. On June 2, 2022, Zelenskyy announced that Russia occupied approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory. By 11 November 2022, the
Institute for the Study of War calculated that Ukrainian forces had liberated an area of from Russian occupation, leaving Russia with control of about 18% of Ukraine. During the whole of 2023, Russian forces captured an estimated net of Ukrainian territory. In 2024, Russian forces captured an estimated in both Ukraine and Russia's
Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine had previously
launched a cross-border offensive. The majority of the Russian advances took place in the months of September, October, and November 2024. As of 2024, Ukraine's
peace terms include Russia withdrawing its troops from the occupied territories. Russia's terms include Russia keeping all the land it occupies, and being given all of the oblasts that it claims but does not fully control. Several Western-based analysts say that allowing Russia to keep the land it seized would "reward the aggressor while punishing the victim" and set a dangerous precedent. They predict that this would encourage Russia "to continue its
imperialist campaign of expansionism" against Ukraine and its other neighbors, and embolden other expansionist regimes. Zelenskyy commented: "It's the same thing
Hitler did, when he said '
give me a part of Czechoslovakia and it'll end here'." Leo Litra of the
European Council on Foreign Relations pointed out that allowing Russia to
annex Crimea in 2014 did not stop further Russian aggression. Opinion polls show that the majority of Ukrainians oppose giving up any of their country for peace.
Kharkiv Oblast The occupation began on February 24, 2022, immediately after Russian troops invaded Ukraine and began seizing parts of the Kharkiv Oblast. Since April, Russian forces tried to consolidate control in the region and capture the major city of
Kharkiv after their
withdrawal from Northern Ukraine. However, by mid-May, the Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians back towards the periphery of the Russian border, indicating that Ukrainians continue to garner stiff resistance against Russian advances. In early September 2022, Ukrainian forces began a major
counteroffensive and by 11 September 2022, Russia had retreated from most of the settlements it previously occupied in the oblast, and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a formal withdrawal of Russian forces from nearly all of Kharkiv Oblast stating that an "operation to curtail and transfer troops" was underway."
Kherson Oblast became Putin's point man in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russian troops from Crimea invaded
Henichesk and
Skadovsk Raions. During the first days of the offensive, the Russians surrounded most of the cities and towns in the oblast, blocking the entrances to them with roadblocks, but not entering the cities themselves. Significant battles were fought for the
Antonivskyi Bridge, which crosses the
Dnipro River between Russian positions on the South bank and the Ukrainian city of
Kherson on the North bank. The Russian military's overwhelming firepower forced the Ukrainian forces to retreat, and the city
fell to Russian control on March 2. On June 29, the
Russian occupation authorities in Kherson Oblast announced preparations for holding a
referendum of annexation. On July 9, the Ukrainian government announced preparations for an
imminent counteroffensive in the South, and urged the residents of occupied parts of
Kherson and
Zaporizhzhia Oblasts to shelter or evacuate to minimize civilian casualties in the operation. Following the destruction of the Antonivskyi Bridge and the advance of Ukrainian troops from the west, the lack of sustainable supply lines amid heavy Ukrainian shelling compelled the Russian forces to retreat. They eventually retreated from all areas on the north bank of the
Dnipro River, including the city of Kherson, which the Ukrainian forces recaptured soon after, known as the
liberation of Kherson. after shelling by the Russian army on 15 January 2023
Raions of
Kherson Oblast that are occupied: •
Henichesk Raion •
Kakhovka Raion •
Skadovsk Raion • Half of
Kherson Raion Zaporizhzhia Oblast following the
airstrike of 9 October 2022 On February 26, 2022, the city of
Berdiansk came under Russian control, followed by
Melitopol on March 1 after
fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Russian troops also besieged and captured the city of
Enerhodar, where the
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located, which
came under Russian control on March 4. Since July, there have been increased tensions around the power plant as both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of missile strikes around the plant, causing fears of a potential repeat of the
Chernobyl Disaster. Raions of
Zaporizhzhia Oblast that are occupied: •
Melitopol Raion •
Berdiansk Raion • Most of
Vasylivka Raion • Most of
Polohy Raion Donetsk Oblast by region (
2001 census). Russia used the "protection" of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine as
one of the pretexts for the invasion and occupation. Since the invasion, the Russian military, along with the Russian-backed
Donetsk People's Republic, built on territorial gains they have made during the
war in Donbas and captured additional territory, most significantly the port of
Mariupol after a
prolonged siege. By February 24, 2022, the following raions of
Donetsk Oblast were occupied: •
Horlivka Raion •
Donetsk Raion •
Kalmiuske Raion After February 24, 2022, the following raions of Donetsk Oblast were captured: •
Mariupol Raion •
Volnovakha Raion • Most of
Bakhmut Raion and
Pokrovsk Raion • Portions of
Kramatorsk Raion Luhansk Oblast By February 24, 2022, the following raions of
Luhansk Oblast were occupied: •
Alchevsk Raion •
Dovzhansk Raion •
Luhansk Raion •
Rovenky Raion After February 24, 2022, the following raions of
Luhansk Oblast were captured: •
Shchastia Raion •
Staroblisk Raion • Most of
Svatove Raion • Most of
Sievierodonetsk Raion On July 3, 2022, the Russian military claimed that the entire Luhansk Oblast has been "liberated", suggesting that Russian forces had succeeded in occupying the entire oblast and marked a major milestone for their goal of capturing the
Donbas. In late September, Ukraine said that
Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast had been recaptured. By early October 2022, Ukrainian forces had recaptured several more settlements as their counteroffensive operations shifted focus into the main territory of the oblast. In September 2024, Russian forces controlled an estimated 98.5% of Luhansk Oblast. In July 2025, Russia claimed to control the entire oblast.
Mykolaiv Oblast The occupation of
Mykolaiv Oblast began on February 26, 2022, with Russian troops crossing into the oblast through the
Kherson Oblast from
Crimea. In March, Russia attempted to advance towards
Voznesensk,
Mykolaiv and
Nova Odesa, but were met with stiff resistance and failed. By May, Russia occupied
Snihurivka,
Tsentralne,
Novopetrivka and numerous other small villages within the oblast. All these were retaken on 10–11 November 2022 during the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which followed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the right bank of the Dnieper. Raions of
Mykolaiv Oblast that are occupied: • Extreme southern portion of
Mykolaiv Raion (
Kinburn Peninsula)
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast –
Donetsk oblast regional border as of 15 September 2025{{cite news |url=https://www.graphicnews.com/en/pages/47304/conflict-russian-troops-enter-central-ukraine-region |title=Ukraine confirms Russia has entered central Dnipropetrovsk region == Formerly occupied territories ==