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Russian and Ukrainian officials traded competing claims of battlefield progress on March 10, even as attacks on civilian areas continued and a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between the two sides was postponed, according to statements reported by the Associated Press. Kyiv also linked the pause to the regional escalation of the Iran war, saying it has diverted attention from Ukraine as the fighting in Europe continues.
In southeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials described recent gains in the Dnipropetrovsk industrial region. Maj. Gen. Oleksandr Komarenko said Ukrainian forces retook nearly all territory of the region during a counteroffensive and drove Russian troops out of more than 400 square kilometers (150 square miles), according to an interview published Tuesday by RBC-Ukraine. Andrii Kyianenko, deputy battalion commander of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelia,” told The Associated Press that Ukrainian troops broke through Russian defenses and advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles), citing Russia’s poor supply and lack of support.
The evolving situation, AP noted, could not be independently verified from the claims themselves. Still, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said recent Ukrainian counterattacks were generating tactical, operational and strategic effects that may disrupt Russia’s spring-summer 2026 offensive campaign plan.
On the other side of the front, Vladimir Putin said Russian forces extended their gains in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where Russia’s invasion has made capturing territory one of its aims. Putin told a meeting with Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed head of parts of Donbas controlled by Russian forces, that Ukraine’s share of the region had fallen from about 25% six months earlier to just 15% to 17%, according to AP. The claim was not possible to verify independently.
Alongside the battlefield messaging, Russian officials also described their diplomatic communications with Washington. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump late Monday that Russian forces were “advancing rather successfully” in Ukraine, and Ushakov told reporters that such progress should “encourage” Kyiv to “move toward a negotiated settlement of the conflict.” European governments have accused Putin of feigning interest in talks while Russian forces keep attacking Ukraine, AP reported.
Meanwhile, reports of strikes and casualties continued in Ukraine and in Russia. The head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said three powerful glide bombs struck the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing four people and wounding at least 16 others, including a 14-year-old girl. Emergency services said overnight drone strikes on three other Ukrainian cities wounded at least 17 people, including two children, and Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 122 out of 137 drones launched during the night.
AP also reported that Ukrainian missiles hit targets in western Russia. Regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said Ukrainian missiles struck the city of Bryansk on Tuesday, killing at least six civilians and injuring 37. Zelenskyy told reporters that the Ukrainian military chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported the strike hit a plant involved in manufacturing control systems for all types of Russian missiles, and the Ukrainian military said it used British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles to hit the Kremniy El microchip factory in Bryansk, one of Russia’s largest microelectronics makers.
Against this backdrop, Zelenskyy said the next round of negotiations was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Turkey, but American negotiators postponed it. Zelenskyy told reporters via WhatsApp messages that the postponement could extend into next week, according to AP, as the Iran war drew international attention away from Ukraine. Zelenskyy also urged Washington not to lift sanctions on Russia.
In comments reported by AP, Zelenskyy said the U.S. was reportedly considering easing sanctions on Russia’s oil sales to ease supply-chain disruptions and pressure gas prices as the Middle East conflict continues. Zelenskyy said such a move would help Moscow finance its invasion and would be “a serious blow” for Ukraine.
Russian officials, AP reported, appear to be betting that the Iran conflict could bring a financial windfall from rising oil prices and distract global attention from Ukraine. Zelenskyy, AP said, is pursuing a different diplomatic effort: he has sought leverage by supplying Ukraine’s cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology to the United States and its Gulf partners for the war in the Middle East, while also seeking a reciprocal supply of advanced American-made air defense missiles Ukraine needs to counter Russian attacks.