Moscow is demanding Kyiv accept its ‘annexation’ of areas it occupies. After the latest round of talks between envoys of Putin and Trump ended without progress, we look at the territory Russia is seeking to absorb
Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory began in 2014 with the capture of Crimea by special forces. Russian proxy forces then seized towns in the eastern Donbas, beginnning a war that continues to this day.
A new stage was launched in February 2022 with Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion that at its greatest extent in the north threatened the Ukrainian capital.
The invasion was launched from Russia, above, Belarus and Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.
But by later that year, Ukrainian counterattacks had pushed the ground war close to its current frontlines, a long front in the south-east where Russia has since ground out limited territorial gains at a huge cost in lives. Russia's most recent advances are concentrated in the centre of this front.
