Ukrainian forces said Wednesday they had retreated from the stratgically key frontline town of Vuhledar in the eastern Donetsk region after two years of keeping invading Russian forces at bay.

Since Russia sent its army into Ukraine in February 2022, the war has largely been a story of grinding artillery and drone strikes along a heavily fortified 1,000-km (620-mile) front involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

The Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk region has fallen to the Russian offensive, as it took Moscow over two years and a half to capture the town. What does this mean for the Russian invasion of Ukraine?