President Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have given Russian President Vladimir Putin something to help focus his mind. The July 14 announcement of a new NATO-backed weapons corridor into Ukraine,

Officially, the Kremlin has annexed only Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, but given that Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 20 revealed he still regarded all of Ukraine as Russian territory, many experts believe these buffer zones are little more than an excuse to continue capturing as much Ukrainian territory as possible.

President Vladimir Putin intends to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engages on his terms for peace, unfazed by Donald Trump's threats of tougher sanctions, and his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance,

Kremlin | Vantage on Firstpost | N18G Moscow claims to have seized the entire Luhansk region of Ukraine, nearly three years into the Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022. This makes Luhansk the first Ukrainian region to be fully occupied by Russia since the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Putin dismisses Trump’s ceasefire ultimatum as Ukraine war intensifies, with rising casualties and deepening global stakes.

On July 9, 2025, in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held Russia

The Russian occupation governor of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region claimed full control over the territory, marking it as the first of the four annexed regions where Russia has established full control.

Rights groups say Moscow is seeking to erase the Ukrainian identity and Russify the parts of Ukraine it holds. The Kremlin is set to take a step in that direction come September: Under a draft directive,

The European Court of Human Rights held Russia legally responsible for widespread abuses in eastern Ukraine and the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 in a sweeping ruling that opens the door to reparations.