Moscow aims to maximize its territorial gains before seriously considering a full ceasefire, analysts and military commanders said. Ukraine ... Russian advance for as long as possible and extract heavy losses. Kremlin forces are steadily gaining ground ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling over a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Trump has changed his mind about sending weapons to Ukraine.

The White House said the decision to halt some weapons deliveries to Kyiv was made "to put America's interests first."

Russia now controls more than two-thirds of Ukraine’s Donetsk region — the main theater of the ground war. Russian forces have carved out a 10-mile-deep pocket around the Ukrainian troops defending the crucial city of Kostiantynivka, partly surrounding them from the east, south and west.

NPR talks with military analyst Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about Russia's gains in Ukraine and what they reveal about the war's direction.

Crude futures gained ground as the trade agreement between U.S. and the EU helped ease some demand concerns, while President Trump’s reduction in the 50-day deadline for Russia to reach a cease-fire with Ukraine gave prices an added boost.