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Four years of war in Ukraine: a front that barely moves

EL PAIS ยท Feb 21, 2026

explainer
stack: [qgis, ai2html]

Context

A map-based four-year overview of the war in Ukraine, focused on front-line changes, territory control, and key conflict indicators.

My role

  • Cartography
  • Data analysis
  • Frontend development

I worked on the cartographic and visual implementation of the story.

Data and methodology

The piece combines front-line data, territorial change estimates, infrastructure attack records, aid flows, and casualty figures in one visual package.

We structured the article as a sequence of complementary maps and charts to move from macro territorial dynamics to energy, financing, and human impact.

Key decisions

  • We prioritized temporal comparison across 2022-2026 to make the slowdown in territorial changes explicit.
  • We used map-plus-chart storytelling to avoid a single-indicator reading of the war and preserve geopolitical context.
  • Visual hierarchy was tuned for fast scanning so readers could connect military, economic, and humanitarian dimensions in one pass.

Result

The final piece provides a clear visual summary of four years of war.

Impact and learnings

  • The project helps maintain a consistent format for periodic conflict updates.

Links