U.S. President-elect Trump, who has vowed to swiftly end the conflict, is returning to the White House at a time of Russian ascendancy. Moscow controls a chunk of Ukraine about the size of the American state of Virginia and is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.

Putin has ruled out any significant territorial concessions and demands that Kyiv abandon its NATO membership ambitions.

President Joe Biden has approved providing anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, a U.S. official told Reuters. Ukraine had committed to not using the mines in densely populated areas, an unnamed official told the Washington Post,