ACLED's latest analysis described how Russia's offensive "went into overdrive" in July, with over 2,600 battles recorded, the highest number since the war started on February 24, 2022, it says. The number of monthly battles has been increasing, reaching high after high, throughout the last several months of 2025.

A Trump-Putin meeting has been floated by both sides for some time. So why might either side want it to happen now?

Dmitri N. Kozak, who has said privately that the invasion was a mistake, has lost power to another senior Putin ally, Sergei V. Kiriyenko, who has embraced the military action.