Major Battles & Operations

Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital involving multiple axes of attack from the north, including through Chernobyl and Hostomel. Ukrainian forces successfully defended the capital, forcing Russian withdrawal.

Rapid Ukrainian counteroffensive that liberated over 6,000 km² of territory in Kharkiv Oblast within days. Russian forces conducted disorganized retreat, abandoning significant equipment and ammunition.

Ukrainian counteroffensive gradually pushed Russian forces back across the Dnipro River. Russia withdrew from the right bank of Kherson Oblast, including the regional capital, in November 2022.

Ukrainian forces liberated the railway hub of Lyman in a rapid encirclement operation, forcing Russian defenders to break out of a near-encirclement. The liberation came just one day after Russia formally annexed Donetsk Oblast.

Rapid Ukrainian counteroffensive operation that liberated the strategic logistics hub of Izium in just 4 days, unraveling an entire Russian defensive line in northeastern Ukraine and forcing the withdrawal of Russian forces from a large portion of Kharkiv Oblast.

Four-month contest over the tiny 0.17 km² Black Sea island that became a potent symbol of Ukrainian defiance. Russia captured the island on day one of the war but Ukraine used sea drones, Neptune missiles, and aircraft strikes to make the garrison untenable, forcing a Russian withdrawal on June 30, 2022.

Focal point of Ukraine's 2023 summer counteroffensive, the Battle of Robotyne saw Ukrainian forces breach the first line of Russia's extensive "Surovikin Line" fortifications and capture the village after weeks of intense fighting, at considerable cost to both sides.

On the opening day of the invasion, Russian VDV airborne forces launched a helicopter assault to seize Antonov Airport at Hostomel, intending to establish an air bridge for flying in reinforcements toward Kyiv. Ukrainian National Guard and rapid counterattacks denied Russia stable control of the runway, and the airfield was retaken when Russian forces withdrew from Kyiv Oblast in early April.

As part of operations on the southern flank of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces fought to recapture the village of Klishchiivka, situated on dominant high ground overlooking Russian positions. Ukraine reported liberating the village in September 2023 after weeks of difficult fighting.

Ukrainian forces recaptured the small village of Andriivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut in September 2023, fighting through Russian defensive positions in a wooded area near the rail line south of the city.

Russian forces advancing from Belarus encircled much of the northern city of Chernihiv during the opening phase of the invasion, subjecting it to heavy shelling and air strikes. The city was never captured, and Russian forces withdrew from the region in early April 2022 following their failure to take Kyiv.

Brutal 82-day siege of the strategic port city of Mariupol. Ukrainian defenders, including Azov Regiment, held out in the Azovstal steel plant before surrendering. The city suffered massive destruction.

The longest and bloodiest battle of the war. Russian forces, primarily Wagner Group mercenaries, gradually captured the city after 10 months of intense fighting. Both sides suffered massive casualties.

Major Russian offensive to capture the fortified town of Avdiivka, which had been on the front line since 2014. After months of intense fighting, Ukrainian forces conducted tactical withdrawal.

Intense urban battle for the administrative center of Ukrainian-controlled Luhansk Oblast. After weeks of street fighting and chemical plant standoffs, Ukrainian forces conducted tactical withdrawal to Lisichansk.

Wagner Group mercenaries captured the salt-mining town of Soledar after weeks of intense fighting. The capture flanked Bakhmut from the north and represented Wagner's first major standalone battlefield victory.

Russian forces suffered enormous losses attempting to capture the elevated town of Vuhledar in early 2023, with armored columns destroyed in massed anti-tank ambushes. The town finally fell in October 2024 after prolonged fighting.

The Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River was catastrophically destroyed, causing massive flooding of downstream settlements. Both sides blamed each other for the destruction. The disaster displaced tens of thousands and devastated ecosystems.

Russian forces captured Chasiv Yar after 16 months of sustained assaults beginning March 2024. The elevated canal district city, positioned on the road toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, fell in July 2025 after intense fighting across multiple urban districts.

Immediately following the Ukrainian withdrawal from Severodonetsk, Russian forces assaulted the twin city of Lysychansk on the western bank of the Siverskyi Donets River. Encirclement from the north forced a Ukrainian withdrawal within ten days, completing Russian occupation of all of Luhansk Oblast.

One of the longest and most destructive urban battles of the war. The small mining town of Marinka (population ~10,000 pre-war), directly adjacent to Russian-controlled Donetsk city, was subjected to a grinding 21-month Russian assault before finally falling in January 2024.

Russia rapidly captured the city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine on February 26, 2022, just two days after the invasion began. The fall of Melitopol was part of the southern axis offensive designed to create a land bridge from Russia to Crimea along the Sea of Azov coast.

Russian forces captured the coal-mining town of Kurakhove in Donetsk Oblast after a sustained assault beginning in October 2024. The fall of the town was part of Russia's broad multi-axis advance across central Donetsk Oblast following the capture of Avdiivka in February 2024.

Russian and allied separatist forces assaulted the town of Volnovakha in southern Donetsk Oblast in the opening weeks of the invasion. After heavy shelling that destroyed much of the town, Ukrainian forces withdrew and Russia captured Volnovakha in mid-March 2022.

Wagner Group and Russian forces fought a prolonged battle for the fortified town of Popasna in Luhansk Oblast. After weeks of intense fighting, Ukrainian forces withdrew in early May 2022, and Russia used the captured town as a springboard for subsequent advances toward Bakhmut.

Following the fall of Avdiivka, Russian forces exploited westward and captured the village of Ocheretyne in spring 2024 after breaking into the settlement during a period of Ukrainian unit rotation. The advance opened a new axis of pressure toward Pokrovsk.

Russian forces captured the town of Niu-York (formerly Novhorodske) in Donetsk Oblast in summer 2024 as part of the advance in the Toretsk direction. The town fell after weeks of fighting amid Russia's broader push across central Donetsk.

Russian forces captured Kreminna in April 2022 and have held the forested town and surrounds against sustained Ukrainian counterattacks. The Kreminna forest line became one of the most contested and stable front sections.

Russian forces have been advancing toward the logistics hub of Pokrovsk since mid-2024 after breaking through the Avdiivka area and advancing along the M04 highway. The city serves as a major Ukrainian supply and logistics hub for the Donetsk front.

Ongoing Russian offensive to capture the industrial city of Toretsk (population ~30,000 pre-war), a key position on the Donetsk front. Russian forces have achieved partial control of the city since October 2024 but face determined Ukrainian defense of its western districts and the adjacent coke plant complex.

Ukrainian forces liberated the strategic rail hub of Kupyansk in two days during the September 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive. In August 2024, Russia launched a major offensive to retake the city, advancing to its outskirts and triggering mass civilian evacuation before Ukrainian defences stabilised the line.

Russia launched a surprise offensive in May 2024 targeting northern Kharkiv Oblast from the Belgorod border region, capturing Vovchansk and dozens of villages. Ukraine stabilised the front after reinforcing with reserves, preventing any advance toward Kharkiv city.

Sustained Russian advance along the southern Donetsk front toward the town of Velyka Novosilka, situated at the administrative boundary between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Russian forces pressed from the east and southeast through 2023–2025, capturing surrounding villages and gradually pushing Ukrainian forces westward along this axis.

After the fall of Lysychansk in July 2022, Russian forces pushed toward the town of Siversk in northern Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian forces held the town and its approaches through prolonged attritional fighting, and the sector remained contested over an extended period.

As Russian forces advanced through central Donetsk Oblast in 2025, the town of Kostiantynivka came under growing pressure from multiple directions. The town forms part of the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk defensive belt and became a focal point of Russian efforts to push deeper into the remaining Ukrainian-held Donetsk Oblast.