Russia has said it will “drastically reduce” combat operations around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the northern city of Chernihiv, but the move has been met with scepticism by Ukraine and its Western allies.
Here are the latest developments on day 35 of the invasion:
- Fighting remains ongoing around the outskirts of Kyiv
- Ukrainian counter-attacks gaining ground around capital
- Attacks continuing in Chernihiv despite Russian pledge
- But some Russian units are being withdrawn and redeployed
- Port city of Mariupol likely to fall to Russians within days
Russia launched its attack on 24 February, but five weeks into the war some Russian units have suffered heavy losses and been forced to return to Belarus and Russia to reorganise, according to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Ukrainian counter-attacks have pushed Russian troops back in a number of places and the MoD says that Russia is struggling to sustain its operations across multiple areas of engagement.
Ukrainians fight back around Kyiv
Russian forces have lost ground around Kyiv in recent days and it appears they have given up on their attempts to encircle the city for now, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ukrainian forces have successfully pushed Russian troops back in a number of areas on the outskirts of Kyiv, including in the suburb of Irpin about 20km (12 miles) to the west.
This has kept Russian artillery out of range of central Kyiv, but shelling of the suburbs has continued to cause casualties and destroy homes and infrastructure – and the city remains vulnerable to missile attacks from the air.
To the east of the capital, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed ground from the Russians around the suburb of Brovary, about 20km (12 miles) away from the centre of Kyiv.
The Russian advance on Kyiv from the east has been hindered by the failure to take control of Chernihiv, a major city to the north-east that sits between the capital and the Russian border.
Chernihiv’s governor says there has been no let-up in attacks by Russia so far, despite Moscow’s pledge to reduce military activity there and around Kyiv in an effort to “boost mutual trust” in peace talks.
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Russian progress slows in the south
Russian forces initially made rapid gains in the south, with their main objective being the creation of a land corridor between Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and areas held by Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Standing in the way of that objective has been the port city of Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian forces since the start of March.
Russian forces have been advancing further into the centre of Mariupol in recent days and the city is likely to fall within days, according to the ISW.
More than 100,000 civilians are thought to be trapped in the besieged city and its deputy mayor says people are starting to die from starvation and dehydration.
To the west, Russia has been attempting to push towards Odesa, with the aim of cutting off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.
But their advances stalled at Mykolaiv, where a counter-attack by Ukrainian troops has pushed Russian forces back towards the city of Kherson.
Ukrainian resistance around Kherson is continuing to stop any Russian advances in the area, according to the ISW.
Russia targets full control in the east
With recent setbacks elsewhere in the country, the chief of the Russian army said last week that the focus of its forces is the “complete liberation” of the Donbas.
The Donbas is made up of the Donestk and Luhansk regions, where Russian-backed separatists held significant territory before the Russian invasion at the end of February.
Russian forces in the region are concentrating efforts on encircling Ukrainian forces, advancing from Kharkiv to the north and Mariupol from the south, the MoD says.
Western officials say several thousand Russian troops are on their way to the region and forces are also now being redeployed there from other areas of Ukraine, according to the ISW.
About these maps
To indicate which parts of Ukraine are under control by Russian troops we are using daily assessments published by the Institute for the Study of War with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.
From 2 March this daily assessment differentiated between “Assessed Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory” and “Assessed Russian advances in Ukraine”, the latter indicating areas where Russians are believed to have launched attacks from but which they do not control.
To show key areas where advances are taking place we are also using daily updates from the UK Ministry of Defence and BBC research.
The situation in Ukraine is fast moving and it is likely there will be times when there have been changes not reflected in the maps.
