Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Putin’s forces advance in Zaporizhzhia as Hungary says Ukraine has ‘no chance’ of profitable

Greece has agreed to supply US-origin liquefied natural gas to Ukraine as the country struggles with widespread damage to its energy infrastructure from Russian strikes. The deal was signed on Sunday as president Volodymyr Zelensky began a European tour in Athens aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defences and securing energy support ahead of winter.

Running from December until March 2026, the agreement is “an essential step in strengthening regional energy cooperation and European energy security,” Zelensky and Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a joint statement. It will help “support Ukraine in the midst of a difficult winter,” they added.

The announcement came as Russian drone attacks overnight damaged energy facilities in the Odesa region, including a solar power plant, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Ukrainian intelligence is warning that a Russian Lancet drone is prowling the sky, loitering above Kramatorsk, like a heron poised over a fish pond, ready to strike.

This is the future of war – and the West isn’t ready for what may be coming in an open conflict with Russia: mass casualties and a transformation of the battle beyond anything that Nato’s armies are training for.

The laptop feed is for Rebekah Maciorowski, an American volunteer paramedic who runs the medical operations, evacuation and training for an entire battalion of men and women on Ukraine’s eastern front, under its 3rd Brigade. In a conventional war, she would be a major. In this conflict? She has no idea what her rank is and cares even less.

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Communications between Russia and the United States are ongoing, including discussions related to a possible settlement in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Monday.

“Communications continue,” Ushakov told reporters. “We are proactively talking on the settlement in Ukraine.”

He added that any agreement for a meeting between the Russian and US presidents would help push aside “many technical and political difficulties”.

“If an agreement in principle is reached between Washington and Moscow on a meeting between the leaders, then many issues will move to the background,” he said.

Russia’s air defence forces destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones overnight, RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing the Russian defence ministry’s daily data.

Finland’s president Alexander Stubb has said he is not very optimistic about the prospects of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine this year.

Europe, meanwhile, will require ”sisu,” a Finnish word meaning endurance, resilience and grit, to get through the winter months, he said, as Russia continues its hybrid attacks and information war across the continent.

Finland, which shares a 1,340-km border with Russia and joined Nato after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, sees itself as a key bridge between Washington and Kyiv.

Stubb, who maintains a close relationship with Donald Trump, told Associated Press he uses those channels to explain Finland’s wartime experience and the realities on the battlefield.

“I can explain to President Trump what Finland went through or how I see the situation on the battlefield, or how do you deal with (Russian president Vladimir) Putin? And then, you know, if he accepts one out of 10 ideas, that’s good,” he said.

Speaking at a military training base near Helsinki, where volunteers were practising battlefield evacuations in freezing temperatures, Stubb said president Volodymyr Zelensky must act swiftly on corruption allegations that could undermine international support.

“I’m not very optimistic about achieving a ceasefire or the beginning of peace negotiations this year,” Stubb said, adding that progress by March would be “good.”

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has said Ukraine has “no chance” of winning the war with Russia and that continued EU financial support for Kyiv is “just crazy.”

Orban claimed the EU has “burned already €185 billion” on support for Ukraine and argued that continuing to fund Kyiv “kills” the bloc “economically” and “financially.”

His comments came in an interview with Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, which owns POLITICO.

Hungary has continued to block the EU sanctions against Russia and denounced financial support for Ukraine. Obran had lobbied for the exemption of US oil sanctions on Russia.

He also accused European leaders of prolonging the conflict in the hope of securing a stronger position in future peace negotiations.

“They would like to continue the war,” he said. “They think we have to support Ukraine more – it’s wrong, totally wrong.”

Arguing that “the situation and the time is better for the Russians than for us,” Orban urged Europe to push for a ceasefire “as soon as we can.”

On possible peace talks, he predicted a broader deal “between the Russians and the Americans” covering the war, trade and energy.

He also said Europe should establish its own channel to Moscow: “Let the Americans negotiate with the Russians, and then the Europeans should also negotiate … and see whether we can unify the position.”

A Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed three people and wounded 10, including three children, a regional military official in the Kharkiv region said on Monday.

The overnight strike hit the city centre, injuring children aged 18, 15 and 14, said Vitali Karabanov, head of Balakliia’s military administration, on Telegram.

Nine of the wounded were taken to hospital, he added.

There was no immediate response from Moscow to the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to sign a series of defence agreements in Paris on Monday as Kyiv seeks to strengthen its long-term military capacity amid intensified Russian attacks.

Zelensky is meeting French president Emmanuel Macron as Russia steps up drone and missile strikes and claims fresh advances in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In a post on X, Zelensky said a “historic agreement” with France would significantly boost Ukraine’s combat aviation and air-defence capabilities.

Talks have been under way for weeks on how France can expand support despite political and budget pressures in Paris.

Macron has already pledged additional Mirage jets, beyond the six previously promised, and a new batch of Aster 30 missiles for Ukraine’s SAMP/T air-defence systems.

According to people briefed on the discussions, Monday’s announcement is expected to go further. Kyiv could receive a 10-year strategic aviation agreement that paves the way for Rafale fighter jets, partly from current French stocks and largely as part of Ukraine’s plan to build a 250-strong future fleet alongside F-16s and Gripens. Training requirements mean the advanced jets would not be operational immediately.

Additional SAMP/T systems, anti-drone equipment and longer-term missile orders are also expected, though financing remains unclear.

Macron’s office said the goal was to use “French excellence in the arms industry” to equip Ukraine with the systems it needs to resist Russian aggression.

Russia said on Sunday that its forces had made significant advances in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, capturing two settlements as part of a broader push to take full control of the area.

The defence ministry said troops had seized Rivnopillya – a move that threatens the southern town of Huliaipole with potential pincer movements – and Mala Tokmachka, located just 9km (6miles) from Orikhiv.

A prominent Russian military blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, described Mala Tokmachka as “the gateway to Orikhiv”, underscoring the strategic implications of the advance.

Ukraine has not commented. Its top general warned last week of worsening fighting along parts of the Zaporizhzhia front, including around Huliaipole, and Kyiv has acknowledged pulling back from several villages in the area.

With a smaller army stretched across multiple fronts, Ukraine is attempting to reinforce the Donetsk region while holding the rest of the line under intense Russian artillery and drone strikes.

Pro-Ukrainian battlefield maps indicate Russian forces have moved at least 30km (19miles) across a broad section of the Zaporizhzhia–Dnipropetrovsk axis over the past six weeks.

Ukrainian troops and commanders say manpower shortages are hampering their ability to maintain defensive positions, despite the heavy use of drones by both sides making any advance costly.

Russia now controls roughly 19% of Ukraine – about 115,000 sq km – a marginal increase compared with two years ago. Moscow continues to seek full control of the Donbas, as well as the entire Kherson and Zaporizhzhia region