Putin: Ukraine now controls only 15% of Donetsk

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian forces have expanded their advance in the Donbas region.

Putin has said that, while Ukraine controlled about 25% of the Donetsk region six months ago, it currently holds only 15–17% of the territory.

The Russian leader made this statement during a meeting with Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed head of the region.

The issue of territory, specifically Donbas, is the key problem that is hindering progress in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Official Moscow is demanding that Ukraine give up this territory, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country will not give up land that Russia did not win on the battlefield.

Talks between the two warring parties, which are being mediated by the US, have not continued since the joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran began on February 28. 

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President Zelensky said on Tuesday that Turkey is ready to host a new round of trilateral peace talks between Kiev, Moscow and Washington.

Zelensky announced the news after a conversation he had with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The President noted that Turkey is ready to host the next round of talks in a trilateral format. We appreciate this initiative and hope that it can yield results," Zelensky wrote on Facebook.