What's corroborated

To Romanenko, lower recruitment numbers throughout Russia are key to Moscow’s losses.

Romanenko said that while Ukraine 'amassed some reserves' to advance in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia, Russians keep pushing forward in key areas in Donetsk.

According to Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, the gains are 'tactical but very meaningful.'

These counterattacks are generating tactical, operational and strategic effects that may disrupt Russia’s Spring-Summer 2026 offensive campaign plan, according to ISW.

In Zaporizhia region, Ukrainian forces have regained nine towns since January.

Almost the entire territory of Dnipropetrovsk has been liberated, according to Major General Oleksandr Komarenko.

The Institute for the Study of War said the gains were more modest – 257 sq km (100 sq miles) – but admitted that the porous front line and multiple grey areas complicate calculation.

Moscow’s inability to replenish its front-line losses is the main factor for Ukrainian gains, according to Zelenskyy.

Russia is losing up to 35,000 people a month, Zelenskyy told Corriere Della Sera on March 3.

For the first time in almost three years, Kyiv began regaining some territory.

The Russia-Ukraine war’s harshest winter has brought ceaseless pressure from Moscow along the front line and significant aerial attacks that have left millions of Ukrainians without power and heat.

China has deep economic and investment interests in the region.

Russia has historical ties to Iran and stands to gain considerably after the war if the regime survives.

Russia and China’s public messaging on the war reflects the disparity in their respective stakes in the Middle East.

China’s statements have generally attempted to strike a balance between criticizing the United States and focusing on Middle East stability, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz.

Beijing did not publicly mention calls with regional officials until three days into the war, when Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with his counterparts in Iran and Oman.

Foreign Minister Lavrov called his counterparts in Iran and Qatar and pledged to convene a UN Security Council meeting.

Moscow’s messaging has been incandescent since the start of the conflict.

First lady Melania Trump wrote a letter to Putin in August 2025 advocating for return of missing children, and facilitated her fourth round of reunifications on April 2.

More than 60 million people still live with the daily fear of unexploded munitions.

27 countries have been declared landmine-free, over 51 million stockpiled landmines destroyed, and global trade halted since the Ottawa Treaty.

At least 60,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines in Angola since 2008.

HALO has cleared more than 123,000 landmines since 1994.

Prince Harry has been a patron of HALO Trust since 2019.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children.

In addition to Ukraine, Russian forces previously resorted to double-tap strikes in Syria.

International humanitarian law prohibits double-tap strikes affecting civilians, rescuers, and medical personnel.

Russian military bloggers claimed that the strike targeted a hotel housing electronic warfare specialists.

On the same day, a double-tap ballistic missile strike injured 18 civilians, including a rescuer, in Kryvyi Rih.

On 19 October, Russian guided aerial bombs destroyed a fire and rescue unit in Shostka, Sumy region, injuring five rescue workers and damaging six rescue vehicles.

Last week, ACLED recorded three events where Russian forces targeted rescue workers in Ukraine.

Ukrainians had concerning queries like “What is the blackout schedule?” “What is EW?” (electronic warfare), and “What is a KAB?” (a Russian glide bomb).

The Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol is the most-searched film in Ukraine.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi emerged as one of the year’s top-searched individuals in Ukraine.

Ukrainians' main searches for purchases in 2024 included eco flows, charging stations, and inverters.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday sought to clarify comments he had made during a summit earlier in the week, insisting that he was not favouring Russia over Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Sunday: “They understand that it is necessary to create problems for the aggressor, so that Russia loses the opportunity to spoil the life of the world.”

The five Nordic countries – Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland – are all now Nato countries and have all been staunch supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that cooperation within the “Ukraine plus Northern Europe” format is gaining speed with more steps that can increase pressure on Russia expected in the coming week.

President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia’s defence ministry was working on different ways to respond if the US and its Nato allies help Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with long-range western missiles.

Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions has been claimed by two murky groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion.

Bryansk neighbours Kursk province, where Ukraine seized about 1,000 sq km of territory during a surprise assault in August.

Bogomaz did not clarify whether Ukrainian soldiers carried out the alleged attack, but claimed on Sunday evening that the situation was “stable and under control” by the Russian military.

An “armed group” sought on Sunday to breach the border between Ukraine and Russia’s Bryansk region, its governor, Aleksandr Bogomaz, said but was beaten back.

Russian forces thwarted an attempt at another cross-border incursion by Ukraine into south-western Russia, a local official reported Sunday.

Jäger stated that Russia is trying to probe Europe’s borders, undermine NATO, destabilize European democracies, divide societies, and intimidate the population.

German Foreign Intelligence Service President Martin Jäger stated on October 13 that the frequency of Russian attacks on Europe is a “new level of confrontation.”

The Financial Times noted that Poland has accused Russia of orchestrating a recent hacking attempt to cut off the water supplies to Gdansk.

Cenckiewicz also stated that Poland is now in a “state of war” in the cyber domain.

Polish National Security Bureau Chief Sławomir Cenckiewicz told the Financial Times that Russia is using cryptocurrency to pay actors conducting sabotage in Europe in order to prevent European intelligence services from tracking the payments.