The Russian occupation of Ukraine is the military occupation by Russia of parts of Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war. The areas currently under Russian control lie in southern and eastern Ukraine. In Ukrainian law, they are defined as the "temporarily occupied territories". As of 2024, Russia occupies almost 20% of Ukraine and about 3 to 3.5 million Ukrainians are estimated to be living under occupation; since the invasion, the occupied territories lost roughly half of their population. The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that Russia is committing severe human rights violations in occupied Ukraine, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, crackdown on peaceful protest and freedom of speech, enforced Russification, passportization, indoctrination of children, and suppression of Ukrainian language and culture.
The occupation began in 2014 with Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea, and its de facto takeover of Ukraine's Donbas during a war in eastern Ukraine. In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion. However, due to fierce Ukrainian resistance and logistical challenges (e.g. the stalled Russian Kyiv convoy), the Russian Armed Forces retreated from northern Ukraine in early April. In September 2022, Ukrainian forces launched the Kharkiv counteroffensive and liberated most of that oblast. Another southern counteroffensive resulted in the liberation of Kherson that November.
On 30 September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, despite only occupying part of the claimed territory. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution rejecting this annexation as illegal and upholding Ukraine's right to territorial integrity.
As of 2024, Ukraine's peace terms call for Russian forces to leave the occupied territories. Russia's terms call for it to keep all the land it occupies, and be given all of the oblasts that it claims but does not fully control. Several Western-based analysts say that allowing Russia to keep the land it seized would "reward the aggressor while punishing the victim" and encourage further Russian expansionism.
Background
With the Euromaidan and Revolution of Dignity since November 2013, popular protests across Ukraine led to the dismissal of pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament), as he fled to Russia. The growing pro-European sentiment at the center of this period of upheaval caused unease in the Kremlin, and Russian president Vladimir Putin immediately mobilized Russian army and airborne forces to invade Crimea, and they swiftly took control of major government buildings and blockaded the Ukrainian military in their bases across the peninsula. Soon after, Russian-installed officials announced and carried out a referendum for the region to join Russia, which western and independent organizations labeled as illegitimate. The Kremlin rejected these claims and soon officially annexed Crimea into Russia, with western nations issuing sanctions against Russia in response. In addition, with pro-Russian counter-protests across Eastern and Southern Ukraine in response to the ousting of Yanukovych, Russia allegedly supported Russian and pro-Russian militant separatists in the Donbas region in taking control of major government buildings. These separatists eventually created the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and have since been at conflict with the now-pro-European Ukrainian government, known as the war in Donbas (Russia announced their "annexation" after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine).
In response to Russian military intervention, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted government laws (with further updates and extensions) to qualify the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as temporarily occupied and uncontrolled territories:
Autonomous Republic of Crimea: Law of Ukraine No. 1207-VII (15 April 2014) "Assurance of Citizens' Rights and Freedom, and Legal Regulations on Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine". Separate Raions of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts: 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". 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". 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.
Current overview OccupiedUkrainian regions EstablishedRussian federal subjects andtemporary administrative agenciesPercentage underRussian control(as of Dec 2024 by ISW)Russia considers itpart of its territory?Ukraine considers itoccupied territory?De-factocirculating currencyPassports Under Russian telephonenumbering plan?rowspan="2" rowspan="4" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="4" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" Zaporozhye Oblastrowspan="3" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" Kherson Oblast Kharkov Military-Civil Administrationrowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" None
Timeline The following chart summarizes some estimates of the total area of Ukrainian territory under Russian control, presented by various publishers at different instances during the conflict. Note that some of the estimates from the end of 2022 were conflicting.
+ Amount of Ukrainian territory under Russian control during the conflict Date Percentage ofUkrainian territory Area km2 (sq mi) Source Petro Poroshenko, U.N. CIA World Factbook CNN CNN CNN CNN Volodymyr Zelenskyy CNN CNN CNN CNN NY Times Belfer center (0.1% points more than in December 2022) ≈ (487 km2 more than in December 2022) NY Times ≈(4,168 km2 more than in December 2023)Russia gained 4,000sq km of Ukraine in 2024. How many soldiers did it lose? Belfer Center ≈ Belfer CenterThe Russia-Ukraine War Report Card, October 29, 2025 ≈ Belfer Center ≈ Belfer Center ≈ Belfer Center
Before February 2022 Since Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, it administers the peninsula under two federal subjects: the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. Ukraine continues to claim the peninsula as an integral part of its territory, which is supported by most foreign governments through the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262, even though Russia and some other UN member states have expressed support for the 2014 Crimean referendum, implying recognition of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. In 2015, the Ukrainian parliament officially set 20 February 2014 as the date of "the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia".
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", ) The term first appeared in Law of Ukraine No.1680-VII (October 2014). Documents of the Minsk Protocol and the OSCE refer to them as "certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions" (CADLR) of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories is the Ukrainian government ministry that oversees government policy towards the regions. , the government considered 7% of Ukraine's territory to be under occupation. The United Nations General Assembly resolution 73/194, adopted on 17 December 2018, designated Crimea as under "temporary occupation".
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 (both cities were captured in 2022).
Temryuk and Taganrog, two other ports on the Sea of Azov, have allegedly been used to disguise the provenance of anthracite coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the temporarily occupied territories.
Territories affected
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". 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: Addendum No. 128-р as of 18 February 2015 Addendum No. 428-р as of 5 May 2015 Addendum No. 1276-р as of 2 December 2015 Addendum No. 79-р as of 7 February 2018 Addendum No. 410-р as of 13 June 2018 Addendum No. 505-р as of 5 July 2019 Addendum No. 1125-р as of 16 September 2020
Some settlements' names are the result of 2016 Decommunization in Ukraine.
The list below is based on the extension as of 7 February 2018. The borders of some raions have changed since 2015. Autonomous Republic of Crimea (entire region) Donetsk Oblast Cities of regional importance and nearby settlements: Donetsk, Horlivka, Debaltseve, Dokuchaievsk, Yenakiieve, Zhdanivka, Kirovske, Makiivka, Snizhne, Chystiakove, Khartsyzk, Shakhtarsk (Ridkodub), Yasynuvata Amvrosiivka Raion (all settlements) Bakhmut Raion: Bulavynske, Vuhlehirsk, Oleksandrivske, Olenivka, Vesela Dolyna, Danylove, Illinka, Kamianka, Bulavyne, Hrozne, Kaiutyne, Vozdvyzhenka, Stupakove, Savelivka, Debaltsivske, Kalynivka, Lohvynove, Novohryhorivka, Nyzhnie Lozove, Sanzharivka, Olkhovatka, Pryberezhne, Dolomitne, Travneve, Lozove Volnovakha Raion: Andriivka, Dolia, Liubivka, Malynove, Molodizhne, Novomykolaivka, Nova Olenivka, Petrivske, Chervone, Pikuzy Mariinka Raion: Kreminets, Luhanske, Oleksandrivka, Staromykhailivka, Syhnalne Novoazovsk Raion (all settlements) Starobesheve Raion (all settlements) Boikivske Raion (all settlements) Shakhtarsk Raion (all settlements) Yasynuvata Raion: Vesele, Betmanove, Mineralne, Spartak, Yakovlivka, Kruta Balka, Kashtanove, Lozove, Vasylivka Luhansk Oblast Cities of regional importance and nearby settlements: Luhansk, Alchevsk, Antratsyt, Brianka, Holubivka, Khrustalnyi, Sorokyne, Sokolohirsk, Rovenky, Dovzhansk, Kadiivka Antratsyt Raion (all settlements) Sorokyne Raion (all settlements) Lutuhyne Raion (all settlements) Novoaidar Raion: Sokilnyky Perevalsk Raion (all settlements) Popasna Raion: Berezivske, Holubivske, Zholobok, Kalynove, Kalynove-Borshchuvate, Kruhlyk, Molodizhne, Mius, Novooleksandrivka, Chornukhyne, Zolote (except Zolote-1,2,3,4) Dovzhánsk Raion (all settlements) Slovianoserbsk Raion (all settlements) Stanytsia Luhanska Raion: Burchak-Mykhailivka, Lobacheve, Mykolaivka, Sukhodilsk Sevastopol (entire city)
Since the 2022 invasion
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, after stagnating progress amid fierce Ukrainian resistance in order to focus on consolidating control over Eastern and Southern Ukraine. On 2 June 2022, Zelenskyy announced that Russia occupied approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Before 2022, Russia occupied of Ukrainian territory (Crimea, and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk), and occupied a further after its full-scale invasion by March 2022, a total of or almost 27% of Ukraine. By 11 November 2022, the Institute for the Study of War calculated that Ukrainian forces had liberated an area of from Russian occupation, leaving Russia with control of about 18% of Ukraine. During the whole of 2023, Russian forces captured an estimated net of Ukrainian territory.