Moscow's forces made gains in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

This ISW map from December 5, 2023, shows the front line around Luhansk Oblast. Institute for the Study of War. Another ISW map showed Russian advances southwest of Bakhmut and north of nearby ...

Ukraine's counteroffensive aimed at recapturing Russian-occupied territory started around June 4 and Kyiv has said it has liberated more than a dozen villages in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of March 4. The map shows Russian progress in the North, East and Southern fronts in the early weeks of the invasion. March ...

The latest reports come just days after Colonel Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, warned of sweeping Russian ambitions far beyond the four oblasts – Donetsk, Luhansk ...

But a closer look within oblasts like Kharkiv shows that maps like the one above may oversimplify the divide. Kharkiv Oblast includes Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.

The results predictably showed massive support for the move, and on 30 September, President Putin held a signing ceremony in the Kremlin marking Russia’s annexation of the four oblasts.

A map of Ukraine that shows where Russian forces have invaded, ... likely objective is to surround Ukrainian forces in Eastern Ukraine and capture the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. 2.