The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is currently focused primarily on the eastern areas of the country, the Donbas. There, the Russian troops are only slowly conquering additional areas; According to US intelligence, in some places it is 500 to 1,000 meters per day.
In the first days of the invasion, however, Russian troops occupied significant parts of Ukraine, some of which they still hold today. So in the south and north-east of the country.
Looking at Ukraine as a whole, this may seem like a comparatively small part of the country at first glance. However, the author and former world chess champion Garri Kasparov points out in a well-received tweet: The areas taken correspond to the size of Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria together.
Ukraine is a comparatively large country. With around 600,000 square kilometers, it is almost twice the size of Germany. The currently occupied and contested areas cover an area of ​​around 125,000 square kilometers. They already make up a good 20 percent of the national territory. In addition, according to the Ukrainian President Selenskyj, a total of 300,000 square kilometers are covered with mines and duds.
Proponents of an “appeasement” policy sometimes argue that Ukraine should cede the previously occupied territories in the interests of de-escalation.
A look at Kasparov’s comparative maps is therefore worthwhile. The occupied areas of the Ukraine correspond to almost a third of the German national territory. They are also the size of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro combined.
The maps thus clearly show which areas could be affected if Russia were to wage war in other parts of Europe. The whole of the Czech Republic, including Slovakia, would be taken, comparable to almost two-thirds of Italy.
