In a video published on the Kremlin website, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russian soldiers and commanders are proactively attacking and the entire country is participating in the conflict in Ukraine. He emphasized that Russia is defending its love for the Fatherland, the unity of historical fate and declared that Russia is gaining the upper hand.
According to open-source maps, Russia currently controls about 114,500 km2, equivalent to 19% of Ukraine's territory, including the Crimean peninsula and much of the eastern and southeastern regions.
The conflict has not ended despite the diplomatic efforts of US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump has held separate summits with Mr Putin, Ukrainian President Zelensky and a number of European leaders to seek solutions to end the conflict.
In recent developments, Mr. Trump changed his perspective when he said that Ukraine had a chance to reclaim territory. Washington also said it was reviewing Kiev's request to provide Tomahawk cruise missiles to conduct attacks deep into Russian territory.
