What is the current situation on the Ukrainian front?published at 07:23 Greenwich Mean Time
Intense fighting continues almost three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Russia currently controls around 20% of Ukraine, mainly in the east, including parts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have been closing in on the eastern industrial city of Pokrovsk, capturing villages as they advance.
Ukraine still holds a small amount of Russia’s territory in the Kursk region, which it seized during a surprise advance last August.
Zelensky recently said North Korean forces had returned to the front line there after reports they were withdrawn last month due to heavy casualties.
Russia hasn’t publicly shared its battlefield losses since September 2022, when it said 5,937 soldiers had died. Ukraine’s president said up to 350,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, with some reports suggesting the real number could be much higher.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s military had lost 45,100 troops, but many military experts in both Ukraine and the West believe the true figure is, again, significantly higher.