Russia Rapidly Gaining Territory in Ukraine

Russia is gaining territory in Ukraine at one of the fastest rates since the war began, new data show, ahead of an emergency Downing Street summit.

The Kremlin’s army seized 200 square miles of territory in November, up from 100 square miles the previous month, according to DeepState, a trusted Ukraine-based battlefield map.

The speed of advance was approaching the fastest since the initial invasion almost four years ago, the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s leader, will meet with Sir Keir Starmer on Monday. They will be joined by Emmanuel Macron, of France, and Freidrich Merz, of Germany.

Ahead of the talks, on Sunday night the Élysée insisted Ukraine was not “on the brink of collapse”.

A spokesman said European leaders must commit to backing Ukraine in the long term, in the event that the latest peace talks with Donald Trump failed.

“Ukraine is holding its own and doing even better than that. Ukraine is not on the brink of collapse,” they said.

“If we cannot immediately reach a peace agreement with Russia, it is essential that we give Ukraine all the support it needs so that it does not lose ground due to a lack of support.”

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has said he will seize the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine either by force or through negotiation.

A plan to end the war, drawn up with Donald Trump’s administration, involved Ukraine handing over vast tracts of land. Ukraine and Europe have rejected the proposals.

The gains in territory risk helping to persuade Trump that peace should be set on Russia’s terms, and that sending weapons and aid to Kyiv was a waste.

Russia is also moving forward around the small eastern city of Siversk in Donetsk as part of its broader push towards the “fortress city” of Sloviansk.

On Sunday, Russian Telegram reports suggested Moscow’s forces had seized the residential areas to its north, using small groups of infiltrators to get behind Ukrainian lines, a tactic employed with success in Pokrovsk.

Ukraine’s military reported fierce battles were ongoing. Half of the city was within the contested zone, according to DeepState.

On Saturday night, Zelensky said he had a “long and substantive phone call” with Steve Witkoff, the White House’s Russia envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who is assisting the negotiations.

Shortly after the call, Putin launched a deadly missile and drone barrage aimed at Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, including train stations.

European leaders have been scrambling as support for Ukraine wanes and the Trump administration turns its attention away from the conflict.

Trump’s son, Donald Jr, said in a Middle East conference that his father could walk away from the peace talks.

But Keith Kellogg, the outgoing US envoy to Ukraine, said a deal was “really close”. Ukrainian and US negotiators also issued a joint statement calling on Russia to show a “serious commitment to long-term peace”, sowing confusion about the prospect of a deal.

The hastily arranged summit appears to be an attempt to ensure Ukraine is not “betrayed” during the US-led peace process with Russia – a fear Macron alluded to earlier this week.

The Élysée said: “What’s very good about the current phase is that the consultations with the Ukrainians are also very intense. And it’s good, indeed, that the Americans are hearing from the Ukrainians what is possible and what isn’t.

“And once that’s established, the essential thing is for the Americans to get commitments from the Russians that make negotiations ... credible.”

The talks follow the release of Trump’s national security strategy report on Friday that spelt out the long-term US posture in stark detail.

The document accused Europe of blocking peace in Ukraine and also tweaked language from previous versions of the document by dropping wording that described Russia as a direct threat.

Moscow welcomed the changes, saying the adjustments were “largely consistent” with its own vision.