Fighting between Ukraine and Russia continues into its fourth year, with battlefield dynamics shifting significantly across eastern Ukraine and near the border regions. This Ukraine-Russia war update, using the latest maps, highlights major developments from territorial advances to critical peace negotiations.
1. Russia Expands Slowly in Donbas
Russian forces have made grinding advances in the Donbas region, moving mile by mile through towns and villages. Despite their manpower advantage — with an estimated 620,000 soldiers involved — Ukrainian troops recently reclaimed a village in Luhansk, marking a rare counteroffensive success in months.
2. Russia Targets Pokrovsk Frontline
Russian troops have steadily advanced north and west of Donetsk, nearing Pokrovsk. Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report that Ukraine’s use of drones and innovative tactics have slowed Russia’s push, even though Russia made its first major gains in this area in months.
3. New Front Opens North of Kharkiv
In May 2024, Russia launched a northern offensive near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Several villages fell to Russian control during a period when U.S. weapons aid was frozen. However, Ukrainian forces eventually stabilized the front, and Kharkiv remains out of range of Russian artillery despite glide bomb attacks.
4. Ukraine’s Surprise Offensive in Kursk
In a bold cross-border strike in August 2024, Ukrainian forces advanced up to 30 km into Russia’s Kursk region, briefly seizing 93 villages and over 1,200 sq km. However, by March 2025, Russia had largely regained control. Fighting in this region has been likened to a “horror movie” by Ukrainian soldiers.
5. Sumy Under Missile Attack
On April 13, a devastating Russian missile strike killed over 30 people in Sumy, northern Ukraine. Ukraine accuses Moscow of preparing a new spring offensive targeting Sumy and surrounding areas, with the Sudzha-Sumy highway — once a vital Ukrainian supply route — now under Russian control.
6. Ceasefire Negotiations Gain Momentum
Since taking office in January 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed for a negotiated end to the conflict. After talks between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in April, hopes for a breakthrough rose, though tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky remain high.
7. Three Years of Devastating War
Russia’s full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, with swift advances that initially threatened Kyiv. However, Ukrainian resistance, boosted by Western arms, forced Russian withdrawals from northern regions by late 2022. Since then, the war has stagnated mostly in eastern Ukraine, with huge losses on both sides: over 70,000 Russian troops killed, and up to 500,000 total casualties reported.
Conclusion: A War with No Clear End
The situation remains fluid across Ukraine’s battlefields. Russia is grinding forward in the east, Ukraine is attempting strategic counterstrikes, and diplomacy is in motion but fragile. As peace talks falter and offensives mount, the future of Ukraine — and the region — hangs in the balance.
👉 For a full breakdown of events, explore our detailed Ukraine War Timeline.
