Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted the war in Iran has taken the focus away from Russia’s aggression against his country, telling CNN it was a “big risk” to think that efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine can’t restart until the conflict in Iran ends.

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.

After years of conflict, Moscow is struggling to maintain troop levels and hold territory

The biggest change in recent months has come from Ukraine’s newly developed midrange drones, which have allowed Kyiv for the first time to strike behind the front line, hitting Russian ammunition depots,

Last month, Ukraine managed to liberate more land than Russia seized – the first time Moscow suffered a net loss of territory since Ukraine’s 2024 Kursk incursion.