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00:34Four years of war.
00:36Thousands of battles, millions of lives changed, and a constantly shifting map that tells a story of conflict in motion.
00:47Since February 24th, 2022, Russia's territorial controlling Ukraine has gone through dramatic highs and lows, sometimes expanding in rapid blitzkrieg
00:57style offensives, sometimes shrinking under Ukrainian counterattacks.
01:01But what do these control maps actually mean? Military analysts break it down into three key types of control.
01:08Full control, areas where Russian forces are entrenched then operate continuously, usually marked in solid orange.
01:15Partial or contested control, zones where fighting continues and front lines are fluid, often hatched or lighter shades.
01:24Claimed territory, regions Russia declares as its own, like parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, even if it does
01:33not fully occupy them.
01:34These distinctions help show the difference between what's on the map and what's actually on the ground.
01:40Phase one, rapid invasion, Feb to April 2022.
01:44The war began with a multi-axis assault. Russian forces advanced from Belarus towards Kyiv, from Crimea into Kherson and
01:52Zaporizhia, and intensified in the Donbass region.
01:56By late March 2022, Russia controlled roughly 20% of Ukraine, about 118,000 square kilometers, or roughly the size
02:05of Pennsylvania.
02:06Key captures included Kherson City, Melitopol, Verdyansk, and Mariupol, along with strategic points like the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
02:16But despite early gains, Ukrainian resistance proved fierce.
02:21Phase two, Ukrainian counteroffensives, May to December 2022.
02:26As spring turned into summer, Ukraine launched counterattacks that would reshape the map.
02:31In the northeast, the Kharkiv counteroffensive reclaimed Valaklia, Izyom, and Kupyansk, pushing Russian forces back to defensive lines along the
02:41Oskil River.
02:42In the south, Kherson City fell back to Ukrainian control in November, along with surrounding areas on the right bank
02:49of the Dnipro River.
02:51Other Ukrainian successes included Voznesensk, Snake Island, and parts of Sumy.
02:56By the end of 2022, Russia's effective control had dropped to 18 to 19%.
03:05Phase three, attritional warfare 2023 to 2024.
03:10Over the next two years, the conflict became a grinding attritional warfare, especially in Donbass.
03:16Russia continued capturing small towns like Bakhmut, Avdivka, Soledar, and Vuladar, but these came at a massive human and material
03:26cost.
03:27Ukraine responded with limited counteroffensives, regaining villages in Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Kherson, though progress was slow due to entrenched defenses
03:37and extensive minefields.
03:41Phase four, incremental shifts, 2025, early 2026.
03:47In 2025 and early 2026, the war remained a war of attrition.
03:52Russia made modest advances in Donetsk and northern Kharkiv, capturing dozens of settlements, while Ukraine reclaimed significant territory, including southern
04:02Ukraine.
04:02As of February 2026, Russia's territorial control is estimated at 19 to 20%, roughly 116 to 118,000 square kilometers.
04:14Four years in, Russia's map shows solid pockets of control, contested zones, and areas that exist mostly on paper.
04:22Ukraine's resilience, backed by international support, has prevented decisive breakthroughs, keeping the war locked in a stalemate.
04:30The story of the map isn't just about territory, it's about strategy, attrition, and survival in a war with no
04:37clear end in sight.
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