Russia’s army recorded almost no territorial gains on the front line in Ukraine in March for the first time in two and a half years, AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed.

The Russian army has been slowing in its advances since late 2025 — because of Kyiv’s localised breakthroughs in the southeast of the country — and lost ground in February and March on the southern section of the front line between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Across the entire front line, the Russian army seized only 23 sq. km in March, losing territory in some areas, according to the analysis.

This figure excludes infiltration operations conducted by Russian forces beyond the front line, as well as advances claimed by the Russian side but neither confirmed nor denied by the ISW.

The ISW worked with the Critical Threats Project (part of the American Enterprise Institute, or AEI), another U.S. think tank specialising in conflict.

The Russian army made 319 square kilometres of gains in January and 123 sq. km in February, which was then the smallest advance since April 2024.

Its advance in March was the smallest since September 2023.

The ISW attributed the slowdown to Ukrainian counter-offensives, but also to “Russia’s ban on using Starlink terminals in Ukraine” and “the Kremlin’s efforts to restrict access to Telegram”.

The messaging app, very popular among Russians, including those fighting on the front, has been barely usable in recent months due to blocks imposed by the authorities.

As in February, Russia lost ground on the southern section of the front line, between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, where it occupied more than 400 sq. km at the end of January.

This area shrank to 200 sq. km in February and to 144 sq. km in March.

The situation was, however, unfavourable for Kyiv further north in the Donetsk region, towards the two major regional cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

In 2025, the Russian army made more progress in Ukraine than in the preceding 24 months.

But in the first three months of 2026, Russian territorial gains were half those of the same period in 2025.

Four years after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow occupies just over 19% of the country, the majority of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.

Approximately 7%, including Crimea and areas in the Donbas region, was already under Russian or pro-Russian separatist control before the invasion.

Explosions in the western Ukrainian city of LKviv killed a policewoman and wounded at least 15 people overnight in what local authorities on Sunday (February 22, 2026) called an “act of terror”.

The blasts occurred shortly after police responded to a report of a break-in at a shop in the city centre around 12:30 a.m. (2230 GMT Saturday), according to the Lviv regional prosecutor’s office.

A first explosion struck as the initial patrol arrived, followed by a second blast moments later when another crew reached the scene.

Officials said a 23-year-old woman police officer was killed, while a patrol car and a civilian vehicle were damaged.

“This is definitely an act of terror,” Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovy said in a Facebook post. “We have 15 people currently receiving medical aid, some of them are in very serious condition.

“One policewoman died. My condolences to the family and close ones,” he added.

Lviv, close to the Polish border and far from the front line, has faced sporadic strikes and security incidents since Russia’s full?scale invasion in February 2022, but deadly explosions in the city centre remain rare.

U.S. President Donald Trump will likely meet Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday (September 16, 2025).

Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not compromise. But he has not followed through even as Russia ramps up attacks, frustrating Ukraine.

Mr. Trump has had “multiple calls with Putin, multiple meetings with Zelenskyy, including probably next week again in New York”, where leaders will gather for the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Rubio told reporters in Israel.

“He’s going to keep trying. If peace is possible, he wants to achieve it,” Rubio said.

“At some point, the President may conclude it’s not possible. He’s not there yet, but he could get to that point.”

Mr. Rubio pointed to a figure previously cited by Mr. Trump, saying that Russia lost 20,000 soldiers in fighting in July alone.

Mr. Trump a month ago welcomed Mr. Putin to Alaska — the first time a Western nation has allowed the Russian leader to visit since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — and days later met with Mr. Zelenskyy alongside European leaders at the White House.

‘No one else can mediate’

Mr. Rubio said that Mr. Trump was unique in being able to speak to Mr. Putin as well as Mr. Zelenskyy and the Europeans.

“If somehow he were to disengage from this, or sanction Russia and say, ‘I’m done’, then there’s no one left in the world that could possibly mediate the end,” Mr. Rubio said.

Mr. Trump came into office vowing to end the war within a day, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for Russia’s invasion and criticising the billions of dollars provided by the United States to Ukraine.

At a February 28 meeting at the White House that stunned U.S. allies, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Mr. Zelenskyy, accusing him of ingratitude, and then briefly cut off U.S. military and intelligence support for Ukraine.

Mr. Zelensky has since met Mr. Trump twice and each time gone out of his way to praise the U.S. president and voice appreciation for American support.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) discussed with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni the proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU) and thanked her for the support to it.

In a phone conversation, PM Modi also discussed with Ms. Meloni ways to end the conflict in Ukraine as well as the implementation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).

“Had an excellent conversation with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. We reaffirmed our joint commitment to deepen the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and shared interest in bringing an early end to the conflict in Ukraine,” PM Modi said on X.

“Thanked PM Meloni for Italy’s proactive support for concluding a mutually beneficial India-EU trade agreement and promoting connectivity through the IMEEC initiative,” he said.

India and the EU are looking at firming up the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of this year. The two sides are holding the 13th round of negotiations in New Delhi this week.

India and the EU relaunched the negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA) in June 2022 after a gap of over eight years.

An Indian readout said the two leaders reviewed and positively assessed the developments in bilateral strategic partnership across sectors such as investment, defence, security, space, science and technology, education, people-to-people ties and counter-terrorism.

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment towards further deepening the partnership, in line with the joint strategic action plan -2025-29, it said.

“They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. They agreed on the need for an early and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. PM Modi reiterated India’s full support for efforts in this direction,” the readout noted.

It said Ms. Meloni reiterated Italy’s strong support for the conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-EU free trade agreement at the earliest and for the success of the AI Impact Summit to be hosted by India in 2026.

The leaders also agreed on taking steps to promote connectivity under the IMEEEC initiative. The IMEEC initiative was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi in 2023.

Billed as a pathbreaking initiative, it envisages vast road, railroad and shipping networks among Saudi Arabia, India, the US and Europe with an aim to ensure integration among Asia, Middle East and West.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday (August 16, 2025) spoke to his British counterpart David Lammy and discussed various aspects of the Ukraine conflict, including the U.S.-Russia summit talks on it.

The call was initiated by the British side. “Our discussions covered the recent Ukraine developments and other issues,” Mr. Jaishankar said on ‘X’.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a summit meeting in Alaska on Friday (August 16, 2025) on the Ukraine conflict but couldn’t reach an agreement for a ceasefire.