BBC News 24 March 2022 - by the Visual Journalism Team
Russian advances have ground to a halt in many areas, with Ukrainian forces holding out in several cities and also launching effective counter-attacks.
Here are the latest developments on day 29 of the invasion:
Russia launched its attack in the early hours of 24 February, but more than four weeks into the war its forces have failed to build on initial gains they made across the country.
The failure of the initial campaign to seize major cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa could result in a "very violent and bloody" stalemate that could last for weeks or months, warns the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The ferocity of the Ukrainian resistance has meant Russian forces have been forced to change their approach, according to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
They are now pursuing a "strategy of attrition" which could result in increased civilian casualties and greater destruction of cities in the coming days, assessed the MoD.
The fight for Kyiv in the north
Russian forces have been attempting to encircle and cut off the capital, but large areas around Kyiv remain under Ukrainian control, especially in the south.
Russian artillery remains out of range of the city centre, but shelling continues to cause casualties and destroy homes.
Analysts say troops who had been advancing on the capital now appear to be digging defensive positions and laying mines, which could mean they do not anticipate launching large-scale offensives in the near future
To the west of Kyiv, Ukrainian forces have launched counterattacks to regain territory occupied by Russian troops. They are reported to have retaken the small town of Makariv and encircled Russian troops in the suburbs of Irpin and Bucha about 25km (15 miles) from the city centre.
Russian advances had previously stalled in these suburbs as Ukrainian forces prevented them from crossing the Irpin River.
Justin Bronk from the UK defence and security think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), says these new Ukrainian counter-attacks to the west of Kyiv could hamper Moscow's plans to capture the capital.
"Essentially, what they are trying to do is cut off an entire side of the attempted encirclement of Kyiv, which would force the Russian forces to either try to break north and abandon those positions, or for Russia to reroute significant combat power all the way around Ukraine and back in from the north-west, to try to break through and release their own forces there."
A Russian advance from the east has stalled around the suburb of Brovary, about 20km (12 miles) away from the centre of Kyiv. Taking the suburb would bring the Russian howitzer guns within range of the city centre.
The mayor of Boryspil, around 15km (10 miles) south-east of Kyiv and home to the largest international airport serving the capital, has advised civilians to leave as the fighting got closer.
War in Ukraine: More coverage
- LIVE: Latest updates from Ukraine and nearby
- MARIUPOL: Surviving the theatre bombing
- SUPERYACHTS: The hunt for the luxury vessels
- WATCH: Destruction of cities shown from above
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. Ukrainian officials say some 100,000 civilians remain trapped in the city.
The government in Ukraine has rejected Russian demands to surrender Mariupol. Russian forces have increased their bombardment of the city using artillery, drones, and naval guns but troops on the ground have made limited gains, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Previous attempts to create safe corridors out of the city for civilians through ceasefires have collapsed, with those fleeing coming under fire.
Elsewhere in the south, Russian forces appear to be focusing on a drive toward Kryvyi Rih, possibly with the aim of isolating and taking Zaporizhiya and Dnipro from the west, ISW analysts suggest.
To the west, Russia is likely to continue a push towards Odesa with the aim of cutting off Ukraine's access to the Black Sea. Russian naval forces off the coast have fired on the city in recent days but military experts believe capturing Odesa by landing troops from the sea would be very difficult.
Russian advances on Mykolaiv, which lies between Russian forces and Odesa, have slowed and a counter-attack by Ukrainian troops and volunteers has pushed Russian forces back from nearby Voznesensk.
Russian advances in the east
Fighting continues in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where Russian-backed separatists held significant territory before the Russian invasion.
In the north east, Russian troops have almost surrounded the city of Sumy, but Ukrainian forces have prevented attempts to cut it off from the south.
A similar attempt to encircle Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has also been repelled with analysts saying Russian forces there are in short supply of ammunition.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville says Ukrainian resistance in Kharkiv has frustrated the Russians who have turned to artillery strikes, destroying entire neighbourhoods.
By David Brown, Bella Hurrell, Dominic Bailey, Mike Hills, Lucy Rodgers, Paul Sargeant, Mark Bryson, Zoe Bartholomew, Sean Willmott, Sana Dionysiou, Joy Roxas, Gerry Fletcher, Jana Tauschinsk and Prina Shah.
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.
