Russia has what it needs to fight on in Ukraine for at least another year and retains the battlefield initiative, but is struggling to replace its destroyed tanks, experts at a leading security research organisation said on Wednesday.

The Times interviewed Russian soldiers who said they face a brutal fight to dislodge determined Ukrainian forces from a sliver of Russian land. Trapped civilians fear catastrophe.

After holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 12, U.S. President Donald Trump once again claimed the "horrible, very bloody war" in Ukraine had cost "millions" of lives. It’s not the first time Trump has claimed that such numbers of people have been killed in the war.