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Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Contact us for permission to use this map.
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Timeline by Djordje Djukic
Ukraine Map: Russian Troops Gradually Advancing
In the week since our previous Ukraine control map report, Russia and allied rebels have continued expanding their control at a modest pace, seizing the small city of Kherson in the south, expanding separatist control to cover most of Luhansk province, and bringing the port city of Mariupol under siege. Kherson, though the largest city yet captured since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, isn't the biggest city taken from Ukraine by Russia overall, since the slightly larger Sevastopol and Simferopol in Crimea have been controlled by Russia since 2014 (meanwhile, the much larger city of Donetsk, as well as somewhat larger Luhansk, have also been controlled by pro-Russian rebels since that time).
 Full Country Name: • Ukraine (English) • Ukrayina (Ukrainian) Capital: Kyiv |
Timeline of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
The following is a chronology of changes to territorial control and other major events since our previous map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine dated February 27, 2022.
Terminology notes: On our map and timeline we have generally spelled place names within Ukraine based on the Ukrainian-language versions, since Ukrainian is the country's official language. Many places also have an alternate name based on the Russian language, which is also spoken in Ukraine. We have made exceptions for some places with well-established English names, such as Odessa and the Dnieper River.
In the case of the Luhansk/Lugansk, PolGeoNow uses the Ukrainian spelling ("Luhansk") for the province of Ukraine, and the Russian spelling ("Lugansk") for the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, whose official language is Russian. For Ukraine's capital city, historically known in English by its Russian name, Kiev, we have used the Ukrainian version, Kyiv in order to conform to both our own convention and the emerging consensus among news media.
Ukraine's administrative subdivisions are called "provinces" in our timeline, but it's also common to hear them referred to as "regions", or by the Ukrainian-language term, "oblasts". Province names have not been labelled on the above map (with the exception of Crimea), because every province mentioned in the timeline shares a name with a major city that already appears there.
February 28, 2022
During the early hours of February 28, a counterattack by Ukrainian forces managed to recapture Tokmak in Ukraine’s southeast, pushing Russian forces to the town’s southern outskirts. Local Ukrainian militia fighters also pushed Russian troops away from Enerhodar, along the south bank of the Dnieper River, after it had earlier been seized by the Russian military. The town holds the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s largest. Elsewhere in the south, Russian troops advanced from Kherson, which they had surrounded by this point, towards Mykolaiv, launching an assault after reaching the outskirts of the city.
Russian forces advanced another five kilometers (three miles) towards Kyiv, coming within 25 kilometers (16 miles) of the capital city, with a more than 60-kilometer-long (40-mile-long) military convoy extending near the Hostomel airport. Fighting during the day mainly took place to the west of Kyiv, including at the towns of Bucha and Irpin south of the airport, while the Russian military advanced into two towns on the way towards the Zhytomyr-Kyiv road. Elsewhere, the Russian military shelled Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, initially leaving five civilians and two soldiers dead. The civilian death toll was later updated to 11.
 Proclaimed Country Name: • Donetsk People's Republic (English) • Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika (Russian) Capital: Donetsk Recognized by: Russia Status According to Others: Province of Ukraine |
In parallel to the day’s fighting, ceasefire talks began between Ukraine and Russia on Ukraine’s border with Belarus. During the discussions, the Ukrainian government called for the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.
US officials put the death toll since the start of the conflict at 1,500-2,000 Russian soldiers and 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers.
March 1, 2022
Russian artillery fire hit a military base in the town of Okhtyrka, in northeastern Ukraine, killing more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers, while Russian forces captured a town north of Okhtyrka. At least 11 people were also killed when rocket fire hit the provincial administrative building in the center of Kharkiv as Russian forces attempted to surround the city. A village was also seized by the Russian military south of Romny town, which had been contested in the previous days.
Russian forces in the north advanced west of Nizhyn and reached Bobrovytsya, 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Kyiv. To the west of Kyiv, after a counterattack, Ukrainian troops managed to recapture the two towns near the Zhytomyr-Kyiv road, pushing back the Russian military. In the capital itself, a missile strike on Kyiv's TV tower left five people dead.
In the city of Kherson in the south, which was also surrounded, Russian forces broke through Ukrainian defensive lines and started entering the city from four axes after a night of preemptive shelling. Some reports said heavy fighting ensued, while others reported that Russian troops were meeting light resistance after most Ukrainian troops had withdrawn. Later in the day, the Russian military completed its control of Kherson, establishing a firm foothold on the west bank of the Dnieper River. Initially, Ukraine’s government denied that Kherson had fallen, but it would confirm the city’s capture late the following day.
Though relatively small, at a population of under 300,000, Kherson was the biggest city in Ukraine yet captured by Russia since the beginning of the 2022 invasion (several larger cities had already been held by Russia or allied rebels since 2014). Some 300 Ukrainian civilians and soldiers were reportedly killed during the battle. The Russian military then proceeded to advance north through Mykolaiv province, reportedly capturing at least one town.
Further to the east, the DPR reported that it had almost fully surrounded Volnovakha and was aiming to surround the port city of Mariupol during the day. At this point, DPR forces were 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Mariupol's northern suburbs, while also reaching a village nine kilometers (6 miles) to the east of the city. Meanwhile, their allies in the Russian military had come within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of Mariupol from the west, leaving the city semi-surrounded. Later, Russian forces linked up with the DPR and started an assault on Mariupol’s western axis, seizing the city’s Zhovtnevyi district amid heavy fighting. This completed the encirclement of the city as the DPR reached the northern and eastern outskirts. The DPR had advanced 19 kilometers (12 miles) during the day.
 Proclaimed Country Name: • Lugansk People's Republic (English) • Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika (Russian) Capital: Luhansk (Lugansk) Recognized by: Russia Status According to Others: Province of Ukraine |
During the night, fighting was renewed for Mariupol’s western Zhovtnevyi district, while clashes also spread to the Prymors'kyi district. In addition, Russian and DPR forces entered the eastern Livoberezhnyi District.
March 2, 2022
The Russian military launched offensive operations further west of Kyiv into Zhytomyr province, while Ivankiv town, northwest of Kyiv, was confirmed to be under Russian control after heavy fighting the previous week. Meanwhile, in preparation to encircle Kharkiv, Russian forces captured the town of Balakleya to the city’s southeast. In Kharkiv itself, clashes erupted after Russian airborne troops landed at a local hospital.
Fighting continued in Mariupol where mass casualties were reported, while the Russian military reported that the DPR had seized five more villages, advancing a total of 58 kilometers (36 miles) since the start of the operation, while the LPR was confirmed to have captured two more towns, including Starobilsk, bringing its total advances to 75 kilometers (47 miles). The advancing LPR forces linked up with Russian forces at Kupiansk, cutting off a new pocket of territory in the northeast of Luhansk province, thought to have also already been abandoned by Ukrainian troops. The LPR then proceeded to heavily shell the last two major towns in Luhansk province that were still under government control: Sievierodonetsk and a neighboring, slightly smaller town just across the Donets River. The pair of towns had been semi-surrounded by this point. In the evening, it was confirmed that Russian and DPR forces had captured Volnovakha, north of Mariupol.
The Russian military advanced north of Kherson in preparation for the encirclement of Mykolaiv. Further to the east, Russian forces had surrounded Enerhodar, which remained under local control, while Russian troops took control of Tokmak and one other town north of Melitopol after Ukrainian forces withdrew.
Russia confirmed that 498 of its soldiers had been killed and 1,597 wounded since the start of its operations - much less than the numbers claimed by Ukraine or the US. Ukraine reported that more than 2,000 civilians had been killed since the start of the invasion. In contrast, the United Nations only confirmed 227 civilian deaths.
March 3, 2022
Russian forces east of Kyiv made more advances and came within 40 kilometers (35 miles) of the capital city, while Chernihiv city to the north, where 47 people were killed in airstrikes, was left isolated. West of Kyiv, Russian forces launched a new line of advance, pushing around 20 kilometers (12 miles) into Zhytomyr province from Belarus.
In the northeast, 34 civilians were reported to have been killed in airstrikes in Kharkiv over the previous 24 hours.
In the east of Ukraine, Russian and DPR forces started an assault on the Zaporizhzhia-Mariupol road to increase their area of control around Mariupol, reportedly capturing eight villages. Elsewhere, north of Luhansk, it was reported that due to civilians blocking the Russian forces’ advance towards Kupiansk, the Russian military was forced to withdraw from several villages in the area. With this advance delayed, the LPR started an envelopment operation to surround Sievierodonetsk and the neighboring Ukraine government-held town in Luhansk province, advancing west to the provincial boundary (or, according to the LPR, the border of its self-proclaimed republic).
In the south, the Ukrainian Navy's flagship, the Hetman Sahaidachny, appeared to have been scuttled in Mykolaiv to prevent it from being seized by the Russian military. Meanwhile, to the east, Russian troops attacked Enerhodar, with fighting erupting near the nuclear power plant.
It was reported that Russian Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army and head of the 7th Airborne Division, had been killed in fighting several days earlier.
March 4, 2022
In the early hours of March 4, Russian troops started shelling the nuclear power plant at Enerhodar. By morning, they had captured the plant following fighting that left three Ukrainian soldiers dead. Subsequently, the Russian military entered the town as well and took control. Further east, Russian forces advanced in the area between Tokmak and Mariupol.
East of Kyiv, advancing Russian forces reportedly reached an area around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the center of the capital. Meanwhile, the frontline west of Kyiv remained at Bucha and Irpin.
In the northeast, Russian troops advanced southeast of Kharkiv, reaching the northern outskirts of Izium. From the opposite direction, the LPR was also advancing, in a new attempt to link up and surround the northern area on the border that was thought to be empty of Ukrainian forces.
In the south, Russian troops entered Mykolaiv city for the first time, with fighting erupting in some areas. Subsequently, Ukrainian forces pushed Russian troops out of the city and recaptured an airfield on its eastern outskirts, with fighting continuing in the city's suburbs.
 Country Short Name: • Russia (English) • Rossiya (Russian) Full Official Name: • Russian Federation (English) • Rossiyskaya Federatsiya (Russian) Capital: Moscow |
In the northeast, conflict tracker Suriyak reported that the Russian military and the LPR had linked up on the northern shore of the Donets River, thus cutting off and taking control of the remaining pocket of territory in northern Luhansk province, leaving only about 10 percent of the province under Ukrainian government control.
Meanwhile, a ceasefire intended to evacuate civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha collapsed almost as soon as it was declared, with both sides blaming each other for the breakdown. According to Ukraine, the evacuations were halted due to Russian shelling, while Russia stated that Ukrainian “nationalists” were blocking civilians from leaving. Following the collapse of the ceasefire, Russian and DPR forces reportedly seized three towns and seven other villages along the Zaporizhzhia-Mariupol road.
Elsewhere in the south, Russian forces continued to amass on the outskirts of Mykolaiv for a new attack on the city.
West of Kyiv, Russian forces launched a new attack on Irpin and were seen advancing through the town, while they also seized another town 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the capital, northwest of Irpin and south of Ivankiv.
The United Nations confirmed that at least 351 civilians had been killed since the start of the conflict, while the DPR reported that 26 civilians had been killed in its controlled territory during the previous 17 days by Ukrainian military fire.
March 6, 2022
A second attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol collapsed, with both Ukrainian and Russian forces blaming each other for the continuation of fighting. According to a DPR official, only 300 people were evacuated. Meanwhile, Russian and DPR forces were reported to have made more advances northwest of Mariupol, so as to cut off Ukrainian military supply lines to the Donbass region (Donetsk and Luhansk).
In the north, Russian forces reached a village just west of Kyiv, while they were also amassing their forces in several villages to the east of the capital and south of Bobrovytsya.
In the south, Russian troops reportedly captured Kashpero town north of Mykolaiv.
Meanwhile, Russian missile strikes were reported to have “completely destroyed” a civilian airport in Vinnytsia, in west-central Ukraine far from the frontlines.
The United Nations confirmed that at least 364 civilians had been killed since the start of the conflict.
Stay tuned to PolGeoNow for more updates to this map and timeline as events progress!
Graphics of the Ukrainian flag (source), DPR flag (source), LPR flag (source), and Russian flag (source) are in the public domain.
