Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with President Putin and said diplomatic initiatives need to gain momentum to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdogan’s office said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian forces had captured almost 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of land in Ukraine in 2025 and that Moscow retained complete strategic initiative on the battlefield.

The Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region was left largely without electricity for a time on Tuesday after a Ukrainian drone strike, Russian-installed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow’s forces had seized nearly 5,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory this year and maintained full strategic control of

The soldier took up arms a decade ago to defend her home region, Donetsk, where Ukraine has been battling Russian-backed forces since 2014. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the region has become synonymous with Ukraine’s fight for survival. Battlefield developments in Donetsk are considered a gauge of each side’s fortunes in the war.

Activity by US-listed company’s Russia division in annexed regions raises questions about international sanctions regime

Moscow has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and gas production sites as the fourth winter of war approaches and as diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have stalled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian forces captured almost 5,000 square kilometers (1930 square miles) in Ukraine in 2025 and that Moscow retained complete strategic initiative on the battlefield.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian forces captured almost 5,000 square kilometres (1,930 square miles) in Ukraine in 2025 and that Moscow retained complete strategic initiative on the battlefield. He visited a church in St Petersburg on his birthday where he also met with leading military figures.