Since February 24, 2025 — the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion — Moscow’s troops have taken 4,524 square kilometres (1,750 square miles), an area slightly larger than the US state of Rhode Island, according to data from the ISW.
This is in addition to 731 square kilometres claimed by Russia that is neither confirmed nor refuted by the ISW, which works with the Critical Threats Project (part of the American Enterprise Institute, or AEI), another US think-tank specialising in conflict.
The second year of the conflict was relatively stable in terms of land gains, while the third year saw Russia take 4,143 square kilometres.
Of the area gained during the fourth year, more than half was territory where Moscow has taken full control.
The remaining area consists of territories where the Russian army has advanced but does not exercise complete control.
The gains represent 0.8 percent of Ukraine’s territory.Moscow now occupies slightly more than 19 percent of Ukraine, the majority acquired during the first weeks of the conflict.
Roughly seven percent, including Crimea and areas of the Donbas, was already under Russian or pro-Russian separatist control before the February 2022 invasion.
Although the two sides began negotiating during the fourth year, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the latest round of talks they still differed on key issues.
Russia’s most significant seizure in the last 12 months was Pokrovsk, a logistical hub some 600 kilometres from Kyiv in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
After encircling the city for more than a year, the Russian army claimed it on December 1.
Russian troops have made the majority of their advances in the Donetsk region, capturing 2,020 square kilometres, with their operations occasionally spilling into neighbouring Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk.
The Russian army pushed beyond Donetsk for the first time in June 2025, carrying out operations over at least 230 square kilometres of neighbouring regions.
