These 6 maps show how little has changed at the front in the past year: Prison sentences imposed in the trial following the terrorist attack in southern France

Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Robotyne, Vuhledar – for more than a year the same places have been mentioned when it comes to the fighting on the front between Ukraine and the Russian-occupied territories. There is always talk of tough battles and equally heavy losses. Vladimir Putin’s blitzkrieg dream has turned into a war of attrition for people and materials.

Since the so-called “freeze” of the war front in the fall of 2022, there have been scant reports of success or even major territorial gains – on either side. Although Russia was able to capture Bakhmut last May and Avdiivka in February last year, the capture of the two cities is of symbolic rather than military-strategic significance.

This is evident from the current situation around Bakhmut, where the front has moved only a few kilometers to the west. A map comparison clearly shows that the front line has changed only marginally over the past year in other areas where heavy fighting has recently raged.

Bakmut

At the beginning of the war, Bakhmut was an important intermediate target for Putin and his forces on the way to the occupation of the entire Donbas. However, after Lyman and Izyum returned to Ukrainian control during the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Eastern Ukraine in September 2022, Bakhmut lost its military-strategic value. Russian forces were no longer able to attack the Kramatorsk and Slovyansk metropolitan areas from Lyman, Izjum and Bakhmut.

Nevertheless, the city remained hotly contested. Putin wanted to announce a symbolic success with the fall of Bakhmut and wanted Ukraine to keep its bastion at all costs. On May 23, Russian forces finally announced the complete capture of the city. During its counter-offensive, Ukraine was only able to recapture some areas south and north of the city.

^{Legend:
Yellow = Ukrainian control
Green = Ukrainian reconquest
Red = Russian control since the start of the war
Purple = Russian control before the start of the war}

Avdiivka

Avdiivka is a suburb of the city of Donetsk and has little strategic military importance, according to military experts. The Russian offensive is primarily a relief attack carried out to weaken and counter Ukrainian counter-offensive efforts in the area.

Starting in October 2023, Russia increased its efforts to capture the city and put it under constant fire. The Ukrainian armed forces have successfully defended themselves against Russian advances for a long time. However, from mid-January 2024, the defenders increasingly ran out of ammunition, forcing them to withdraw completely from the city by February 18.

Robotyne

In the summer of 2023, Ukraine launched its much-heralded counter-offensive. The aim was to advance south towards the Sea of ​​Azov, to divide the Russian-occupied areas and thus cut off supplies. However, Ukrainian forces encountered significant resistance and were only able to break through the first Russian defense line near the village of Robotyne. However, it was not possible to continue to the strategic city of Tokmak.

Nevertheless, Robotyne is still considered one of the few successes of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. But after the capture of Avdiivka, Russian troops are increasingly focusing on southern Ukraine, according to British sources. A military analyst from the Institute for International Strategic Studies (IISS) in London even expects the next large-scale Russian offensive at Robotyne.

Vuhledar

Since the city of Vuhledar is of great importance to Russia due to its location on the railway line between occupied Crimea and the occupied territories in the Donets Basin, fighting was concentrated there early on. The attackers tried to storm the city several times, but failed each time with heavy losses. During their counter-offensive, Ukrainian forces were able to regain full control of the city.

Lyman

Like Vuhledar, Lyman is also an important road and railway junction. After a prolonged artillery bombardment by Russian forces, the city was completely captured on May 26, 2022, but Ukrainian forces recaptured Lyman in October.

Since then it has been more or less quiet around the strategically important city. But that could soon change: the main efforts of Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine will also focus on the region around Lyman in the coming weeks. The Russians have already made small territorial gains there. However, the aim is to advance over a maximum width of 80 kilometers and in a second step close off an entire part of the front.

Kupyansk

The situation in Kupjansk is similar to that in Lyman: here too there has been little movement at the front in the past twelve months. But Russia also wants to take advantage of the fact that Ukraine is currently militarily weakened. As the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in an analysis this week, Moscow's forces have already launched the "multi-axis offensive."