Putin had hoped that 2026 would be the year his forces — enabled by his advantage in mass and manpower — would break through the frontlines and seize the contested regions in eastern Ukraine. That has not happened.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN he is open to a ceasefire with Russia but doesn’t foresee this happening soon because the US attention has “shifted” to the Middle East.

Ukraine claims to have killed scores of Russians in two strikes in the country’s occupied regions, as Kyiv steps up mid-range drone attacks targeting Moscow’s military infrastructure. One wave of strikes hit a Russian drone pilot training camp in the ...