(For another, semi up-to-date, interactive map, see
here)Map showing Russia in dark red with
Russian-occupied territories in Europe in light red, as follows:
The Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are areas of
Ukraine that are currently controlled by
Russia in the course of the
Russo-Ukrainian War. In Ukrainian law, they are defined as the "temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine" (
Ukrainian: Тимчасово окупована територія України,
romanized: Tymchasovo okupovana terytoriia Ukrainy).
In early September 2022, Ukrainian forces ended the months-long stalemate on the front lines with
a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, inflicting a major defeat on Russian forces by forcing their retreat.[5] Then later in November, Ukrainian forces once again achieved a major success with a
southern counteroffensive retaking the city of
Kherson on 11 November.
Before 2022, Russia occupied 42,000 km2 (16,000 sq mi) of Ukrainian territory (Crimea, and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk), and occupied an additional 119,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi) after its full-scale invasion by March 2022, a total of 161,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi) or almost 27% of Ukraine's territory.[7] By 11 November 2022, the
Institute for the Study of War calculated that Ukrainian forces had liberated an area of 74,443 km2 (28,743 sq mi) from Russian occupation,[8] leaving Russia with control of about 18% of Ukraine's territory.[9] During the entire 2023, the Russian forces only captured 518 km2 (200 sq mi) of Ukrainian territory, despite huge losses on the battlefield.[10]
Law of Ukraine No. 1207-VII (15 April 2014) "Assurance of Citizens' Rights and Freedom, and Legal Regulations on Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine".[18]
Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1085-р (7 November 2014) "A List of Settlements on Territory Temporarily Uncontrolled by Government Authorities, and a List of Landmarks Located at the Contact Line".[19]
Law of Ukraine No. 254-19-VIII (17 March 2015) "On Recognition of Separate Raions, Cities, Towns and Villages in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions as Temporarily Occupied Territories".[20]
Petro Poroshenko, one of the opposition leaders during
Euromaidan, won a landslide victory in the
election to succeed interim president Turchynov, three months after the ousting of Yanukovych.[21]
The uncontrolled portions of the
Donetsk and
Luhansk Oblasts are commonly abbreviated as "ORDLO" from
Ukrainian, especially among Ukrainian news media. ("certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts",
Ukrainian: Окремі райони Донецької та Луганської областей,
romanized: Okremi raiony Donetskoi ta Luhanskoi oblastei)[24] The term first appeared in Law of Ukraine No.1680-VII (October 2014).[25] Documents of the
Minsk Protocol and the OSCE refer to them as "certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions" (CADLR) of Ukraine.[26]
The Ukrainian army was concerned in 2019 about the deployment of
3M-54 Kalibr cruise missiles on Russian naval and coast guard vessels operating in the
Sea of Azov, which is adjacent to the temporarily occupied territories. As a result,
Mariupol and
Berdiansk, two main
Pryazovian seaports, suffer from an increase in insecurity[30] (both cities were captured in 2022).
Since the start of the
Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, the
Government of Ukraine is issuing (as extension to government order no. 1085-р and law no. 254-VIII) up-to-date "List of Temporarily Occupied Regions and Settlements" and a "List of Landmarks Bordering the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone".[32] As of 16 September 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has made four updates to order no. 1085-р and law no. 254-VIII:
Regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia, with a red line marking the area of actual control by Russia on 30 September 20222024 United Nations map of Russian-occupied Ukraine in December 2023
After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Russian military and
Russian proxy forces further occupied additional Ukrainian territory. By early April, Russian forces
withdrew from Northern Ukraine, including the capital
Kyiv,[42] after stagnating progress amid fierce Ukrainian resistance in order to focus on consolidating control over Eastern and Southern Ukraine. On June 2, 2022, Zelenskyy announced that Russia occupied approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory.[43]
On 27 April 2023
Vladimir Putin issued a decree under which Ukrainian citizens of the occupied territories who refused to take a Russian passport would be deemed foreigners, and deported for that reason as a result. The Ombudsman of Ukraine called this another act of
genocide. Simultaneously, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recognized the practice of forcible deportation or displacement of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide.[44]
The occupation began on February 24, 2022, immediately after Russian troops invaded Ukraine and began seizing parts of the Kharkiv Oblast. Since April, Russian forces tried to consolidate control in the region and capture the major city of
Kharkiv after their
withdrawal from Northern Ukraine. However, by mid-May, the Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians back towards the periphery of the Russian border,[45] indicating that Ukrainians continue to garner stiff resistance against Russian advances. In early September 2022, Ukrainian forces began a major
counteroffensive and by 11 September 2022, Russia had retreated from most of the settlements it previously occupied in the oblast,[46] and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a formal withdrawal of Russian forces from nearly all of Kharkiv Oblast stating that an "operation to curtail and transfer troops" was underway."[47][48]
Sergey Kiriyenko became Putin's point man in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.[49]
On February 24, 2022, Russian troops from Crimea invaded
Henichesk and
Skadovsk Raions. During the first days of the offensive, the Russians surrounded most of the cities and towns in the oblast, blocking the entrances to them with roadblocks, but not entering the cities themselves. Significant battles were fought for the
Antonivskyi Bridge, which crosses the
Dnipro River between Russian positions on the South bank and the Ukrainian city of
Kherson on the North bank. The Russian military's overwhelming firepower forced the Ukrainian forces to retreat, and the city
fell to Russian control on March 2.[50] On June 29, the
Russian occupation authorities in Kherson Oblast announced preparations for holding a
referendum of annexation.[51] On July 9, the Ukrainian government announced preparations for an
imminent counteroffensive in the South, and urged the residents of occupied parts of
Kherson and
Zaporizhzhia Oblasts to shelter or evacuate to minimize civilian casualties in the operation.[52] Following the destruction of the Antonivskyi Bridge and the advance of Ukrainian troops from the west, the lack of sustainable supply lines amid heavy Ukrainian shelling compelled the Russian forces to retreat. They eventually retreated from all areas on the North bank of the
Dnipro River, including the city of Kherson, which the Ukrainian forces recaptured soon after, known as the
liberation of Kherson.
Liberated
Kherson after shelling by the Russian army on 15 January 2023
Damage to a residential building in Ukrainian-controlled
Zaporizhzhia following the
airstrike of 9 October 2022
On February 26, 2022, the city of
Berdiansk came under Russian control, followed by
Melitopol on March 1 after
fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Russian troops also besieged and captured the city of
Enerhodar, where the
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located, which
came under Russian control on March 4. Since July, there have been increased tensions around the power plant as both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of missile strikes around the plant,[53] causing fears of a potential repeat of the
Chernobyl Disaster.
Ethnic
Russians by region (
2001 census). Russia used the "protection" of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine as
one of the pretexts for the invasion and occupation.[54][55]
Since the invasion, the Russian military, along with the Russian-backed
Donetsk People's Republic, built on territorial gains they have made during the
war in Donbas and captured additional territory, most significantly the port of
Mariupol after a
prolonged siege.
By February 24, 2022, the following raions of
Donetsk Oblast were occupied:
On July 3, 2022, the Russian military claimed that the entire Luhansk Oblast has been "liberated",[56] suggesting that Russian forces has succeeded in occupying the entire oblast and marked a major milestone for their goal of capturing the
Donbas in Eastern Ukraine.
However, by September 19, Ukraine recaptured
Bilohorivka.[57] By early October, Ukrainian forces liberated several more settlements as their counteroffensive operations shifted focus into the main territory of the oblast,[58] specifically the half north of the
Siverskyi Donets in the
Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line. By May 2024, Ukraine had again lost control of Bilohorivka.[59]
The occupation of
Mykolaiv Oblast began on February 26, 2022, with Russian troops crossing into the oblast through the
Kherson Oblast from
Crimea. In March, Russia attempted to advance towards
Voznesensk,
Mykolaiv and
Nova Odesa, but were met with stiff resistance and failed. By May, Russia occupied
Snihurivka,
Tsentralne,
Novopetrivka and numerous other small villages within the oblast. All these were retaken on 10–11 November 2022 during the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which followed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the right bank of the Dnieper.
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy with soldiers who distinguished themselves during the
liberation of Kherson, 14 November 2022Civilians during Zelenskyy's visit following the liberation of
Kherson, 14 November 2022
Russia started the occupation as part of the
northern campaign in the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The
occupying forces occupied a large part of the oblast, and eventually
laid siege to the oblast capital, but failed to capture
the city. Eventually, their stagnant progress led to their complete withdrawal from the oblast by early April, ending the occupation.
Zelenskyy in the Kyiv Oblast following the recapture of the region by Ukraine, 4 April 2022
Russia started the occupation as part of the
northern offensive in the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian troops occupied a large part of the oblast, even approaching the borders of Kyiv city proper. However, the invaders' stagnant progress led to their
failure to capture the Ukrainian capital, and eventually led to a complete withdrawal from the oblast by early April, ending the occupation.
From 24 February to 30 June 2022, Russian forces occupied
Snake Island in
Odesa Oblast, but later withdrew after suffering heavy missile, artillery and drone strikes from the Ukrainian forces.[60]
During the battles of
Lebedyn and
Okhtyrka, Sumy Oblast, Russian forces spilled over and attacked
Hadiach, and captured small areas around it, and advanced near
Zinkiv. They were soon afterwards repelled which was known as the "Hadiach Safari", since people used shotguns and rifles to hunt for Russian soldiers. Some notable areas captured were
Pirky and
Bobryk.
Russia started the occupation as part of the northern offensive in the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Russian military occupied a large part of the oblast, but
failed to take the
oblast capital. Eventually, the stagnant progress of the
Russian Ground Forces led to their complete withdrawal from the oblast by early April, ending the occupation.
Russia started the occupation as part of the Northern offensive in the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Russians occupied a small portion of the oblast, and never attempted to capture the
oblast capital. Eventually, the culmination of the drive on Kyiv led to their complete withdrawal from the oblast by early April, ending the occupation.
United Nations special rapporteurs have condemned the Russian occupation authorities for attempting "to erase local [Ukrainian] culture, history, and language" and to forcibly replace it with Russian language and culture. Monuments and places of worship have been razed, while Ukrainian history books and literature deemed to be "extremist" have been seized from public libraries and destroyed. Civil servants and teachers have been detained for their refusal to implement Russian policy.[61] The
International Court of Justice ruled that Russia had broken the
Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by restricting school classes in the Ukrainian language in occupied Crimea.[62]
Other violations
Russian armed forces committed widespread violations, including
arbitrary detentions,
torture and ill-treatment,
looting of Ukrainian homes, and
enforced disappearances. They did this under full impunity. Any person suspected of opposing the occupation was targeted. Peaceful protests and free expression were suppressed, whereas the freedom of movements was severely restricted.[63]
Following the liberation of occupied territories, thousands of civilians were accused of collaboration. They are tried by a single judge without a jury. The offense is punished by up to ten years of prison, with some of those convicted getting three or five years of prison. The accused include people who worked as volunteers and held administrative positions during the occupation.[64]
On 20 April 2016 Ukraine officially established government Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons.[65] It was subsequently renamed the Temporarily Occupied Territories, IDPs and veterans and then the
Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories. The current minister is
Iryna Vereshchuk, appointed on 4 November 2021.[66]
In March 2014, in a vote at the United Nations, 100 member states out of 193[67] did not recognize the
annexation of the
Crimea by Russia, with only Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Zimbabwe voting against the resolution[68] (see
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262).
The United Nations passed three resolutions regarding the issue of "human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol", first in December 2016,[69] then again a year later in December 2017,[70] and lastly yet another in December 2018.
Condemning the ongoing temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, namely, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (hereinafter referred to as "Crimea"), by the Russian Federation, and reaffirming the non-recognition of its annexation[29]
In April 2018, PACE's emergency assembly recognized occupied regions of Ukraine as "territories under effective control by the Russian Federation".[71][72] Chairman of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, MP Volodymyr Aryev mentioned that recognition of the fact that part of the occupied Donbas is under Russia's control is so important for Ukraine. "The responsibility for all the crimes committed in the uncontrolled territories is removed from Ukraine. Russia becomes responsible", Aryev wrote on Facebook.[73]
^У Гройсмана створили нове міністерство [The Cabinet decided to create the Ministry of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons], Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian), 20 April 2016,
archived from the original on 28 March 2019, retrieved 26 January 2017