The long-awaited peace talks between Russia and Ukraine collapsed on Sunday as Russia intensified efforts to seize more territory in Ukraine’s eastern regions, CNN reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his stance on Ukraine, telling CNN, “I consider the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours.”
Despite Russia’s renewed aggression, Ukraine has mounted localized counterattacks and is rapidly advancing its domestic weapons production. Meanwhile, Russia’s war-driven economy is showing signs of strain under increasing pressure.
Russian forces have launched coordinated offensives along multiple points of the 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) front line. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi revealed that in just one area—near the embattled city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk—about 111,000 Russian troops are now engaged, a sharp increase from the 70,000 reported in December.
Syrskyi also confirmed that Russian incursions into Ukraine’s northern Sumy region have been successfully halted. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that Ukrainian forces have regained ground in Sumy, and Russian momentum there has significantly slowed.
“The wave of attempts at a ‘summer offensive’ launched by the enemy from Russian territory is fizzling out,” Syrskyi stated confidently.
However, conflicting views remain. DeepState, a Ukrainian open-source military analyst group, reported that Ukrainian defenses in some sectors are rapidly weakening under continuous Russian assaults.
The Kremlin remains adamant about capturing the entire Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. But at the current pace, analysts believe it could take Russia several years to achieve those objectives.
Further complicating the outlook is the shifting geopolitical climate. With the Trump administration appearing less proactive in pushing for a ceasefire, experts warn the war could stretch beyond 2025.
On the ground, the battlefield has taken on a complex and paradoxical nature. Ukrainian forces are combining traditional infantry tactics with cutting-edge drone warfare. In a striking operation earlier this month, Ukrainian drones launched from trucks deep inside Russian territory reportedly destroyed a dozen Russian strategic bombers used for missile attacks on Ukraine.
As hopes for a negotiated peace dim, the war appears locked in a deadly stalemate—one marked by high-tech daring, relentless attrition, and growing uncertainty.
