Ukraine will never recognize occupied territory as Russian, Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister says. Last month Russia occupied six times less land than in November 2024, DeepState says. Seventy-three per cent of Ukrainians say Trump\u2019s presidency is bad for their country, a poll finds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine will never recognize occupied territory as Russian and will not accept any limits on the might of its army, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha was quoted as saying Tuesday during a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart, K\u0119stutis Budrys, in Kyiv, according to Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Ministry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sybiha spoke to his Lithuanian counterpart about the outcome of the Ukraine-U.S. talks in Saudi Arabia and outlined Ukraine\u2019s fundamental issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will never recognize any territories stolen by Russia [as Russian]. We will not accept any limits on the might of our army or on our defensive potential. We will not allow anyone to block our choice to join any alliances,\u201d Sybiha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ukrainian army should be becoming stronger, while [the allies] should be increasing deterrence of Russia both now and after the war ends, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sybiha said Lithuania is one of Ukraine\u2019s closest allies and thanked the country for its unwavering support. Lithuania has delivered more than 1.5 billion euros in assistance to Ukraine since the invasion, with the aid amounting to 2 per cent of its GDP, he was quoted as saying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Russian leader Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under a form of UN- and U.S.-led temporary administration to lay the ground for peace talks. Putin also reiterated longstanding claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is illegitimate and said it was \u201cunclear\u201d with whom Russia should engage to end the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A White House National Security Council spokesperson dismissed the proposal and said that Ukraine\u2019s governance is determined by its constitution and its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. and EU dismissed Putin\u2019s proposal for \u201ctemporary administration\u201d in Ukraine, President Zelenskyi said, speaking at a news conference in Kyiv on Friday. He added that Putin is afraid of peace talks with Ukraine and him personally. The Russian leader demonstrates that he does not want to end the war, Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia occupied 133 square kilometers of Ukraine\u2019s territory in March, significantly less than every month between July 2024 and February 2025, DeepState, a Ukrainian OSINT project said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe effectiveness of Russian forces continues to decline,\u201d the analysts said, adding that Russia\u2019s gains have fallen six times, compared to those in November 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, it does not mean that Russia has decreased the tempo of attacks and is waiting idly for a ceasefire, the message reads. On the contrary, Russian forces have renewed offensive operations in several directions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe tempo [of assaults] in the Pokrovsk direction started to considerably increase in the second half of March and reached the levels of late 2024 when [Ukraine\u2019s] defenses south of the city were sometimes falling apart,\u201d DeepState said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the exhaustion and a large number of problems they\u2019re facing, Ukrainian troops succeed in \u201cminimizing the enemy\u2019s gains,\u201d the analysts added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the Russian soldiers recently taken captive by Ukrainian forces had taken a few days training only before being deployed to the frontlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnfortunately, they now have the Kursk group of forces as a reserve and it is a big question where they will send it or [how they will] split it,\u201d DeepState concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of Ukrainians do not believe a just peace is possible for their country under Donald Trump\u2019s presidency in the U.S., a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found. Fifty-five per cent of Ukrainians say they expect a rather unfair or completely unjust peace deal from Trump, a significant increase from 31 per cent in December 2024. Seventy-three per cent say Trump is bad for their country, a major increase from December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An increased share of Ukrainians hold pessimistic views of Trump\u2019s presidency for their country, according to the poll conducted in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this latest survey, 55 per cent of Ukrainians said they expect a rather unfair or completely unjust peace deal from Trump, a slight dip from 58 per cent a month earlier but a significant increase from 31 per cent in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twenty-two per cent expect the peace to be entirely unjust, and 32 per cent say it will be unjust, but some of Ukraine\u2019s asks will be satisfied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eighteen per cent of Ukrainians expect a rather fair peace with concessions to Russia (15 per cent) or a fully fair peace (3 per cent). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twenty-one per cent say that peace will be partly fair and partly not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainians\u2019 views of Trump\u2019s presidency have evolved since when he took office. At that point, after Trump was elected but before he took office, 54 per cent of Ukrainians said he would have a positive impact on their nation, while only 19 per cent said so in the latest survey. A share of Ukrainians who view Trump\u2019s presidency as bad for Ukraine increased from 21 per cent in 2024 to 73 per cent in March 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted two polls: one between February 14 and March 4, and the other between March 12 and March 22. The surveys were conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). The total sample of the first poll consists of 2,029 Ukrainians ages 18 and older who live in government-controlled Ukrainian territory. The pollster interviewed 1,326 in the latest survey. The margin of error for the February survey is 2.4\u202fpercentage points, and 2.5 per cent for the March poll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"