Russia has had battlefield momentum but its recent territorial gains have been at the expense of high personnel losses.

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to broker a peace deal in Ukraine, but as he prepares to take office, peace seems as elusive as ever.Moscow and Kyiv are seeking battlefield gains to strengthen their negotiating positions ahead of any prospective talks to end the 3-year-old war.

Kyiv region. A Russian ballistic missile strike in Ukraine's capital on the morning of January 18 killed three people and wounded three others. Dnipropetrovsk region. On the morning of January 17, a Russian missile attack on the region's second-biggest city, home to more than 500,000 residents, killed four people and wounded 14 others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on taking office hours before Trump's inauguration in Washington and said he was open to dialogue with the new U.S. administration on Ukraine and nuclear arms.

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MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed on Tuesday how to build ties with Donald Trump, prospects for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine and Moscow's firm support for Beijing's position on Taiwan.

Just three days before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, Russia and Iran have finally signed a “comprehensive partnership agreement,” a deal that had been in the works for months.

Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov issued a fresh warning to NATO member U.K. over assistance provided to Ukraine in the war.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday Ukraine and Britain "had no room" for cooperation in the Sea of Azov, commenting on a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London the two countries' leaders announced on Thursday.

Russian state news agency TASS said Moscow’s forces had seized eastern Ukraine’s Vovkove village, just 10km (6.2 miles) southwest of Pokrovsk city, a key supply hub for Kyiv’s troops. Moscow’s army also captured Shevchenko earlier,