Visual Journalism Team
BBC News
BBC
Combat has intensified in Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale invasion more than three years ago. The Russian army has slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mainly in eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day ceasefire in line with the World War II victory parade in Moscow late at night on May 8, but Ukraine has not committed to it.
The two countries have traded missile and drone strikes on recent nights, resulting in the death of Kiev and forcing the closure of most of the Moscow airports ahead of the arrival of several world leaders to commemorate the incident.
This is a summary of recent important events and the situation in Ukraine.
Russia moves forward in the east
In eastern Ukraine, Moscow war machinery stirs up miles through wide open fields in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, enveloping villages and towns, and enveloping overwhelming towns and towns.
They are trying to acquire other parts of the area known as Donbas.
Russia’s greatest advantage is human resources, showing its willingness to throw soldiers into Ukrainian positions and acquire them several meters at a time.
Ukraine’s military intelligence says that around 620,000 Russian soldiers are active in Ukraine and Kursk. Kiev believes that thousands of troops have entered Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
The battle between the Ukrainian and Russian forces had an attack of about 30% on the frontline, and about 30% of the attacks escalated, according to the Ukrainian military chief, who believed it was part of a spring attack by Russia.
Previously, Russian forces have slowly made progress north and west of Donetsk, and north and west of Donetsk, recently closing Ukrainian pockets along the southwest west of Toretsk.
Russia’s advance to Pokrovsk is the most notable change in the control of the frontline near Donetsk for months, but analysts say that innovative tactics by the Ukrainian army, combining drones and ground forces, have suffered a major loss of military and equipment, slowing the attack.
It took a year for the Russian army to advance about 40km (25 miles). Ukraine was forced to withdraw from Avdivka, just north of Donetsk in February 2024, after several months of fighting.
Russia’s invasion in northern Kharkov
In addition to operations on the Eastern Front, Russia began what ISW described as “the main effort of the lower end” when it crossed the northern border of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, in May 2024. Several villages were seized and thousands of civilians fled.
The Russian push came at the end of a four-month period when the US was not supplying arms to Ukraine due to the US Congress stalemate settled in April 2024.
Ukrainian forces are ultimately held firmly, and the city of Kalkiv is beyond the scope of Russian cannons despite repeated attacks from glide bombs fired by Russian fighters.
Ukraine proposes exchanging territory
Eastern Ukraine has been in territorial dispute since 2014, when Russian-backed fighters seized large belts in eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia had already seized the peninsula in southern Crimea in February 2014 and annexed it soon after.
President Donald Trump said it is unlikely that Ukraine will return to its pre-2014 border, but in response to a question from the BBC, he said “part of the land will return.”
In an interview with the Guardian issued on February 11, Ukrainian President Voldy Mirzelensky suggested that Russia’s territory could be exchanged for territory seized by Ukraine in the West Kursk region of Russia as part of a peace agreement.
Ukraine seized control of some of the region in a surprising attack launched across the border by Ukrainian forces in August, moving up to 18 miles (30km) into the Russian region.
Two weeks later, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief claimed to control Russian territory and villages over 1,200 square kilometres of 93 villages, but Russia regained much of its territory.
Fighting in the region continues more than a week after Moscow said he expelled the Ukrainian troops. Ukraine says its forces are still active there, continuing to attack drones, air and artillery, especially around the village of Tetokino.
Cerez-fire meeting
Ukraine’s most powerful military ally, the United States has been pursuing an end to the war through negotiations since Trump took office at the beginning of the year.
However, Zelensky and Trump clashed repeatedly, and tensions have been high since the fierce confrontation at the White House in February.
In contrast, the US president made efforts to improve relations with Moscow, who told Putin at the end of March “very angry” but said that consultations between us and Russian officials did not create a ceasefire.
On April 30, the US and Ukraine signed a long-standingly controversial agreement to share profits from future sales of Ukraine’s minerals and energy reserves.
The agreement aims to provide economic incentives for the United States to continue investing in Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction, and aims to address Washington’s concerns about the amount of aid it has already contributed.
We also see the establishment of investment funds to promote economic recovery from the war in Ukraine.
After the contract was signed, US Vice President JD Vance said the war “will not end soon,” and that the problem facing the US administration is how Russia and Ukraine “find the midfield” to end the conflict.
Three years of battle
The full-scale Russian invasion began with dozens of missile strikes in cities across Ukraine before dawn on February 24, 2022.
Russian ground forces moved quickly, managing a wide area of Ukraine within weeks and entering the outskirts of Kiev.
The Russians were attacking Harkiv, who had taken territories to the east and south to Carson, encircling the port city of Maripol.
But they struck a very strong Ukrainian resistance almost everywhere and faced serious logistical problems with unincentived Russian military to suffer from a shortage of food, water and ammunition.
The Ukrainian army also quickly deployed Western-supplied weapons, such as the NLAW anti-tank system.
By October 2022, the photos had changed dramatically, and Russia had completely withdrawn from the north as they were unable to take Kiev. The following month, the Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city of Carson.
Since then, the battle has been largely east of Ukraine, with Russian forces slowly gaining ground for months. Military experts estimate that between 165,000 and 235,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion.
Ukraine last updated its victim figures in December 2024, when President Zelensky admitted 43,000 Ukrainian deaths between soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this number is an underestimation.
Dominique Bailey, Mike Hills, Paul Sargent, Chris Clayton, Cady Wardell, Camilla Costa, Mark Bryson, Sana Dionisiou, Jerry Fletcher, Kate Gaynor, Elwan Revow
