The Russian army has experienced its slowest advance on the war frontline in almost two years, according to analysis from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Ukrainian forces achieved several localised breakthroughs, particularly along the southern frontline and by pushing back Russian troops in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Despite the slowdown, Moscow continues to advance in the east, moving closer to the key hubs of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, and currently occupies over 19 per cent of Ukrainian territory.

Ukrainian troops made significant territorial gains during February, including 61 square kilometres on 15 February and more than 50 square kilometres on both 21 February and 23 February.

These Ukrainian advances coincided with a slowdown in Russian troop movements at the frontline, which occurred after Elon Musk reportedly cut Starlink access for Moscow’s forces.

The escalating conflict in Iran is inadvertently bolstering Russia’s financial capacity, strengthening its ability to fund its ongoing war in Ukraine through increased energy profits.

Prices for Russian oil exports have surged from under $40 per barrel as recently as December to approximately $62 per barrel.

While Russian crude continues to trade at a notable discount compared to international benchmark Brent crude, which has climbed above $82 from its pre-attack price of $72.87, its current price now surpasses the $59 per barrel benchmark assumed in the Russian Finance Ministry’s 2026 budget plan.

The ongoing military conflict between the US and Iran has paused the trilateral peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“We continue to engage with the United States practically on a daily basis. For now, because of the situation with Iran, the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting haven’t come yet,” he said in an evening address.

“As soon as the security situation and the broader political context allow us to resume the trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done. Ukraine is ready for it,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine could face a critical shortage of US air defence missiles with the US focusing on its military assault on Iran, experts have said.

Iran has retaliated to the US killing of its supreme leader with a major offensive by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Gulf nations.

The joint forces in the Gulf nations have intercepted these incoming projectiles with US’s Patriot missile interceptors. The anti-missile defence systems have proven critical for Ukraine as well to fight off Russian missiles targeting its energy and military infrastructure.

Serhii Kuzan, head of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center think tank, says that the roughly 600 PAC-3s produced yearly by Lockheed Martin are already insufficient to cover US needs and those of its allies in the Gulf, let alone Ukraine’s.

“It’s the very simple mathematics of war,” Kuzan told the Japan Times.

The stockpiling of Patriots by Gulf states meant they were unlikely to run out completely, said Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo Universtiy.

This is particularly the case at a time the intensity of Iranian missile bombardments appeared to be decreasing, but they might need to become more selective in their use as time goes on, he said.

A Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded and erupted in flames before sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, authorities in the North African country said Wednesday. Russia claimed that an attack by Ukrainian sea drones was to blame.

The Libyan Maritime Authority reported “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire” on the Arctic Metagaz on Tuesday, when it was about 240km (150 miles) off the city of Sirte.

The tanker, carrying 61,000 tonnes of LNG, “completely sank” between Libya and Malta, a statement said. All 30 crew members were rescued and put on another vessel heading to the Libyan city of Benghazi, it said.

Russia’s transport ministry said the vessel was hit by Ukrainian sea drones launched from the Libyan coast. Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening called what happened to the tanker “a terrorist attack” that “exacerbates the situation on global energy markets, including gas markets”.

Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment on the accusation.

Previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian ships have reportedly come from the Libyan coast, though Kyiv officials haven’t publicly confirmed those reports.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the Middle East conflict on Wednesday with the king of Bahrain and the crown prince of Kuwait.

Zelensky said that his administration was in daily contact with the US and once the security situation around Iran permitted it, trilateral talks with Moscow and Washington on a settlement of the war with Moscow would resume.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said talks about Iran included leaders of Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Ukraine’s partners, including the US, had sought Kyiv’s help in defending against Iranian drones, like those used by Russia in the four-year-old war with Ukraine.

“Partners are turning to us, to Ukraine, asking for help in defending against shaheds. There have also been requests from the American side,” he said.

Russia’s true federal budget deficit in 2025 exceeded 2.36 trillion roubles (£24bn), far above official figures, as Moscow sought to hide the real costs of its war in Ukraine, Germany’s BND intelligence service claimed today.

In a LinkedIn post, the agency said Western sanctions were having a “clear effect” and that concealing economic damage made Russia an “incalculable risk” for investment.

“Putin is sacrificing Russia’s economic future for his imperial goals,” the intelligence service said.

Ukrainian drones damaged civilian sites in southern ⁠Russia’s Saratov region and injured three people, regional ⁠governor ​Roman ⁠Busgarin said early ⁠on Thursday.

Busgarin gave ​no ⁠further details, ‌but said emergency crews were ‌at the site ‌of the attack.

Civil ⁠aviation authority Rosaviatsia said Saratov airport was one of several in central and southern Russia closed to flights late on Wednesday and in the early hours of Thursday.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto later on Wednesday after accusing Ukraine of “blackmailing” of Slovakia and Hungary over oil supplies, the Kremlin said.

Kyiv has said that the Ukrainian branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline, ⁠which supplies Russian ​oil ⁠to Hungary and Slovakia, was severely damaged by fire after a Russian attack in late January and cannot be repaired quickly.

Hungary and Slovakia have both accused Ukraine – which has long been unhappy about them continuing to buy Russian oil – of deliberately dragging its feet over the repairs for political reasons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would discuss the matter with Szijjarto, a frequent visitor to Moscow, later on Wednesday.

“You know the buyers of our oil, such as Hungary and Slovakia, who are now facing blackmail from the Kyiv regime. This refers to blackmail related to the deliberate blocking of supplies via the Druzhba oil pipeline. Of course, this will be discussed today,” said Peskov.