The Moscow Times reported that Russia has continued to gain advantages for more than a year, as the Ukrainian army is struggling with manpower and equipment.
On March 1, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian army had recaptured four villages in Kursk province, including Novaya Sorochina, Pogrebki, Gorlovka and Nikolsky of Russia, while expanding control in Donetsk.
According to a senior Russian official, after the August 2024 attack, Ukraine once controlled 1,268 square kilometres in Kursk, but Moscow has so far claimed to have re-controlled nearly two-thirds of the area. Meanwhile, according to DeepState, a military blog linked to the Ukrainian army, Kiev still controls about 396 square kilometers of territory in the region.
Also on March 1, Russia declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the US a "failure" after he was publicly scolded by US President Donald Trump in a fiery dialogue at the White House on February 28.
During the trip, Mr. Zelensky planned to sign a mineral exploitation agreement with the US, but things got worse when President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of disrespect and publicly reminded him in front of the US and international press.
Meanwhile, the Kiev government expects the deal, if signed, to pave the way for security commitments from Washington as Ukraine continues to cope with Russia's military campaign.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Zelensky's February 28 visit a "complete political and diplomatic failure" for the Ukrainian government.
According to Zakharova, Mr. Zelensky has not given up on prolonging the fighting, while Russia's military goals in Ukraine remain unchanged.
