Ukraine says it is in ‘strongest frontline position in a year’ as Russian advance grinds to a halt

NewsWorldEuropeUkraine says it is in ‘strongest frontline position in a year’ as Russian advance grinds to a haltRussia has lost miles of land in Ukraine since 1 March according to expert reportsMaira Butt Thursday 23 April 2026 17:05 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2963699","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-zelensky-putin-frontline-b2963699.html","title":"Ukraine says it is in ‘strongest frontline position’ against Russia in a year’ "}}CloseZelensky says Russia ceasefire unlikely until Iran crisis ‘closed’On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Europe","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}Ukraine’s foreign minister has said the country’s frontline position i...