In less than a week, Ukraine’s military made startling gains against Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, potentially changing the tide of a war that has raged for more than half a year and changed the geopolitical fabric of Europe.
These maps show Ukraine’s latest victories against Russia
By Ruby Mellen
and September 12, 2022 at 5:09 p.m. EDT
Voronezh
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Chernihiv
Area held
by Russia-
backed
separatists
before
Feb. 2022
Belgorod
Sumy
Valuyki
Kyiv
Kharkiv
LUHANSK
KHARKIV
Cherkasy
Slovyansk
Luhansk
UKRAINE
Bakhmut
Dnipro
Donetsk
Kirovohrad
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
ZAPORIZHZHIA
Rostov-
on-Don
Mariupol
Mykolaiv
Melitopol
KHERSON
MOL.
Kherson
Odessa
RUSSIA
Kerch
CRIMEA
Krasnodar
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
100 MILES
ROM.
Novorossiysk
Sevastopol
Black Sea
Control areas as of Sept. 11
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
Ukrainian reclaimed territory
through counteroffensives
Russian-held
areas
Area held
by Russia-
backed
separatists
before
Feb. 2022
Voronezh
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Chernihiv
Belgorod
Sumy
Kyiv
Kharkiv
Poltava
Cherkasy
Kramatorsk
Dnipro
Uman
Zaporizhzhia
Rostov-
on-Don
Mariupol
Melitopol
Mykolayiv
Kherson
RUSSIA
Odessa
Crimea
Krasnodar
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
Novorossiysk
Sevastopol
100 MILES
Control areas as of Sept. 11
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
Ukrainian reclaimed territory
through counteroffensives
Russian-held
areas
Area held
by Russia-
backed
separatists
before
Feb. 2022
RUSSIA
BEL.
Chernihiv
Belgorod
Sumy
Kyiv
Kharkiv
Poltava
Cherkasy
Dnipro
Zaporizhzhia
Rostov-
on-Don
Mariupol
Melitopol
Mykolayiv
Kherson
RUS.
Odessa
Crimea
Sevastopol
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
100 MILES
Black Sea
Control areas as of Sept. 11
Sources: Institute for the Study of War
The advance could be partly attributed to savvy messaging said Joel Hickman, deputy director of the Transatlantic Defense and Security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Ukraine had said it was planning to target Russian-held Kherson in the country’s south, Hickman noted. Russia repositioned equipment and reinforcements there, where they were expecting a counteroffensive.
GET CAUGHT UP
“What they actually did was lure Russians from places in the north,” Hickman said. “That created vulnerabilities that they were able to exploit.”
Additionally, Hickman said, “Ukraine has had more motivated troops than Russia.” People in liberated towns told The Washington Post that Russians dropped their guns and fled on stolen bicycles disguised as civilians when they realized they would have to retreat.
The seizures of two big cities dealt a blow to Russian supply lines in the region. Kupyansk’s railway was used to resupply Moscow’s forces in Russian-held Donetsk. Izyum also proved a vital link to Donbas.
While momentum may have shifted analysts are not convinced these gains mark a seismic shift. Seizing territory is one thing, but holding it is another challenge, especially for a military like Ukraine’s which has not engaged in many counteroffensive operations since the invasion started in February.
Russia still holds a significant chunk of Ukrainian territory.
Belgorod
RUSSIA
Valuyki
Kupyansk
Kharkiv
Ukrainian
counter-
offensive
LUHANSK
Starobilsk
Balakliya
Area held
by Russia-
backed
separatists
before
Feb. 2022
Izyum
Lyman
Severodonetsk
Slovyansk
Luhansk
Bakhmut
Dnipro
Horlivka
Shakhty
Donetsk
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
Rostov-on-Don
Taganrog
Mariupol
50 MILES
Berdyansk
Melitopol
Control areas as of Sept. 11
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting
THE WASHINGTON POST
Belgorod
RUSSIA
Valuyki
Kharkiv
Kupyansk
Ukrainian
counter-
offensive
LUHANSK
Balakliya
Izyum
Severodonetsk
Slovyansk
Luhansk
Bakhmut
Dnipro
—Dnieper
Donetsk
Area held
by Russia-
backed
separatists
before
Feb. 2022
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
Mariupol
Melitopol
50 MILES
Control areas as of Sept. 11
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
RUSSIA
Belgorod
Kupyansk
Kharkiv
Ukrainian
counter offensive
LUHANSK
Balakliya
Izyum
Severodonetsk
Slovyansk
Luhansk
Donetsk
—Dnieper
DONETSK
Area held
by Russia-
backed
separatists
before
Feb. 2022
Zaporizhzhia
Mariupol
Melitopol
50 MILES
Control areas as of Sept. 11
Sources: Institute for the Study of War
Moscow also has more damaging capabilities in its arsenal it could deploy, like cluster munitions and thermobaric weapons.
“We shouldn’t be dismissive of what Russia can still do in this conflict,” Hickman said.
