Most of the gains were in Donetsk, Ukraine’s eastern region, where fighting has been intense for most of the war.

With escalating airstrikes, the Russian leader appears determined to demonstrate that he will dictate the terms for any end to the war.

But summits and sweatshirts won’t make Russia a superpower. Only a credible show of strength can do that. The war in Ukraine was meant to supply this, but it has instead become a slow-motion demonstration of Russia’s decline—less a catalyst of national revival than a case study in national self-harm.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO has focused on trying to deter an attack on its own territory and avoid all-out war with nuclear armed Russia. Now the time has come for NATO to defend itself, and European allies might have to do it alone, experts and leaders say.

Russia-Ukraine peace talks are “more on pause” than they are active, the Kremlin said Friday, in an acknowledgement that confirms what Ukraine has been warning for months – negotiations are faltering despite a push from US President Donald Trump.

"If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets," Putin says as the U.S. and Europe plan for a post-war Ukraine.