It has been more than a year since Russia began their invasion of Ukraine. Since February of 2022 much has changed, and Ukraine continues to be a constant battleground. 

Although it is unclear, many people are curious how much of Ukraine, Russia actually controls. To put it into perspective, Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine’s total area of 233,000 square miles, though this number has fluctuated since the beginning of the invasion. 

The United States continues to supply Ukraine with various types of weapons and vehicles and will eventually send 31 main battle tanks known as the M1 Abrams as well. 

The International Criminal Court, or ICC, has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes committed during the invasion of Ukraine. However, this arrest warrant means virtually nothing because Russia, China and even the United States are not members of the ICC, and the chances that Vladimir Putin would soon be arrested are slim to none. 

Ukraine is still constantly pushing for donations of fighter jets from foreign countries. The country has shown an intense interest in the F-16 because of how common and easily accessible surplus parts are. However, the U.S. has stated that it currently has no plans to give Ukraine any aircraft. 

“My best pilots are dying while we wait for the F-16,” said Ukrainian Air Force General Serhii Holubstov whilst urging the United States to send F-16s to the country. 

Poland has recently donated roughly a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, which are old, Soviet era fighter jets that Ukrainian pilots are already trained on and do not require any new training. Other countries such as Slovakia have also announced that they are donating their MiG-29s to Ukraine. The U.S. also agreed to supply Slovakia with twelve brand new American AH-1Z attack helicopters if they donated their MiG-29s to Ukraine. 

The United States has also been focused on supplying Ukraine with new weapons and munitions for their upcoming spring offensive to retake territory that Russia has invaded.  

“We have to deliver swiftly and fully on our promised commitments,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on March 15 when he announced that the U.S. would supply Ukraine for their upcoming spring offensive. Since this speech, there have been at least 95 flights aboard aircraft that contain U.S. munitions bound for Ukraine. 

According to Western sources such as U.S. and other European governments, there have been roughly 8,500 civilian deaths, roughly 120,000 deaths of Ukrainian forces, and roughly 220,000 deaths of Russian forces throughout the course of the conflict.