(Photo Credit : Reuters)
1 / 10War Overview: Four years after Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the conflict has hardened into a prolonged war of attrition with largely stabilised front lines and no settlement. Casualties on both sides run into the hundreds of thousands, and Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and areas seized since 2022, reflecting major annexation changes since the invasion began.
(Photo Credit : Reuters)
2 / 10Casualty Scale: Estimated battlefield losses show Russian forces have suffered about 1.2 million casualties, including 275,000–325,000 fatalities, while Ukraine has incurred roughly 500,000–600,000 casualties with 100,000–140,000 dead. Combined losses may be nearing 1.8 million. The figures illustrate the human cost accumulated over four years of continuous high-intensity warfare.
(Photo Credit : Reuters)
3 / 10Territorial Shift: Russian troops initially captured about 115,000 square kilometres in early 2022 before Ukrainian counteroffensives retook around 75,000 square kilometres. Moscow now holds roughly 120,000 square kilometres, about 20% of Ukraine. Since 2024, territorial changes have been incremental, measured in metres per day in some sectors, underscoring a stalemated battlefield.
(Photo Credit : AP)
4 / 10Sniper’s Path: Tetiana Khimion, a ballroom dancer and international judge from Sloviansk, joined the Ukrainian army after her husband enlisted. Now a sniper near Kyiv, she trained abroad and served in multiple units before reaching combat. A mother of two adult sons, she says she hopes they will not have to fight, reflecting how civilian lives have been redirected into military roles.
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5 / 10Widow’s Loss: Oksana Osypenko, a schoolteacher from Chernihiv, lost her husband Oleksandr in a Russian airstrike on March 3, 2022, while he served in territorial defence. Their younger son was born in 2020 and is growing up without his father. She said it took more than a year to accept his death, illustrating the enduring civilian grief caused by wartime strikes.
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6 / 10Partner Captive: Liliia, a theatre dancer, has spent the war campaigning for prisoners after her boyfriend Bohdan, an Azov Brigade volunteer since 2015, was captured in 2022 and later sentenced by a Russian court to 18 years. She attends weekly rallies in Kyiv supporting prisoners of war, describing constant fear for his deteriorating health in captivity.
(Photo Credit : AP)
7 / 10Young Veteran: Ruslan Knysh was 16 when the invasion began and later joined Ukraine’s army after tensions in his hometown over his pro-Ukrainian views. Wounded in a drone attack in the Kharkiv region in 2024, he lost all limbs and is undergoing rehabilitation while seeking prosthetics abroad. He speaks about suicidal thoughts but says he continues forward.
(Photo Credit : AP)
8 / 10Family Tragedy: Yaroslav Nehoda lost his wife, infant daughter and niece when a Russian drone struck their house near Kyiv in October, hitting the room where they were sleeping. The attack destroyed a home built after World War II. He now says he lives between memories and attempts to rebuild his life, reflecting the war’s impact on entire families.
(Photo Credit : AP)
9 / 10Rescue Duty: Ivan Khmelnytskyi, once a postal call-centre worker, became a sergeant in an emergency rescue unit after failing to enlist initially. He now responds to missile and drone strikes, often sleeping with his phone ready for deployment. He says constant readiness has become routine for Ukrainians, even though exhaustion and stress have accumulated over four years.
(Photo Credit : AP)
10 / 10Displaced Lives: Liudmyla Shytik, 77, and her husband fled their home in Vuhledar after shelling began on the invasion’s first day, sheltering for weeks before evacuating with only documents. Their house burned, and they have moved repeatedly, including from an apartment damaged by a missile strike in Kyiv. Now in social housing, they remain uncertain about their future. (With inputs from AP)
