From the front-line city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk, to Zaporizhzhia in the south, there is little doubt that Russia is making advances. But, battlefield monitors suggest the picture is not quite so bleak for Ukraine as Trump and Putin suggest.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday about a proposed plan for ending the war in Ukraine, with talks to continue Tuesday, a US official told CNN.

Ukraine attacked key Russian energy infrastructure on the Black Sea for a third time this month just as President Donald Trump cited progress on his peace proposal.