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.

Ukrainians on Thursday worried that U.S. President Donald Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though some expressed cautious hope over his effort to swiftly end the war.