Tracking the war through graphs.
Updated: 1st October 2024
(End of October Update underway)
Below are a series of charts showing how the control of territory has developed throughout the war, from the rapid advances by the Russian forces in the early days of the conflict to the counter-offensive operations by Ukraine to regain control of the lost territory.
If you follow the war in Ukraine closely it can sometimes appear that there are large, regular advances occurring. This is in part due to gradual confirmation of reported advances or simply attacks in one location giving the impression of multiple advances on one axis. Another factor is simply the scale of the war and the length of the frontline.
When compared to the totality of the country, the advances are minor. In addition they are often gradual enough and fortifications are deep enough, that new defences can be set up preventing a large scale breakthrough similar to that achieved by Ukraine in late 2022.
This chart shows just how static the line has been for some time.
This second graph shows how the control has changed each month of the conflict so far.
It is worth remembering that the full-scale invasion began on the 24th of February 2022 and therefore the 10.75% change in control in that month occurred over just 4 days.
Those rapid advances by the Russian forces continued into the early part of March 2022, before Ukraine was able to secure its lines and halt the progress.
In April 2022 a Ukrainian counter-offensive pushed the Russian forces out of the north of the country.
Over the following summer a near stalemate occurred with gradual minor advances by the Russian army.
Then, in September, a new series of Ukrainian offensives began liberating almost the entirety of Kharkiv Oblast. This was followed by the liberation of the ‘right bank’ of the Dnipro river including the occupied city of Kherson.
As the monthly changes have become proportionally much smaller, this next chart shows the changes for just the past 12 months. The recent increased progress made by the Russian Army is evident after the capture of Avdiivka and its surrounding settlements in February and the advance into Kharkiv Oblast in May.
The relative success of Ukraine’s operation into Russia can also be seen, taking control of an area equivalent to all Russian advances since the end of April.