Russia has lost about twice as many men to death and serious injury as Ukraine. But the trends favor the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin has refused to directly engage with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him “illegitimate”. The Russian president said Ukraine will have to find a legal way to hold the peace talks as Kyiv has not held any elections since Russia started the war on its smaller neighbour.

Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine, as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyiv’s grip on the country’s industrial heartland