Russia and pro-Russian separatists control most of Luhansk Oblast as of 21 September 2022[1] and about half of Donetsk Oblast as of 20 September 2022[1]
Russia retreats from all of Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River and the strategic city of Lyman
38,000+ soldiers (late March 2022)[2][3][4] 50,000–62,000 soldiers (early April 2022)[5] 10,000–20,000 mercenaries (per European officials, early April 2022)[6][7][8] 300–500 Syrian and Libyan mercenaries (per ISW, early April 2022)[9]
In the winter of 2022–2023, Russia focused on capturing the city of Bakhmut, largely destroying the city in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Russia claimed to have fully captured Bakhmut in May 2023 amid ongoing Ukrainian counterattacks on the city's outskirts. In June 2023, Ukraine launched another major counteroffensive across the entire frontline, capturing some Russian positions along Bakhmut's outskirts and in southwestern Donetsk Oblast. However, by November 2023, this counteroffensive had largely stalled in the east and Russia began counterattacking to recapture territory, gaining control of Avdiivka and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast by February 2024.[19][20]
^"Hundreds of thousands face catastrophe in Mariupol". The Economist. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022. Ukrainian forces in Mariupol are vastly outnumbered, with 3,500 soldiers facing 14,000 invaders, around a tenth of the total estimated Russian force in the country.