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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces have reclaimed 6,000 square kilometers of occupied territory from Russia since starting a major counteroffensive last month. Western media is presenting events near Kharkiv as an absolute rout of Russian forces, with other sources cautioning there’s little that can be verified, also amid the question of whether regained territory can actually be held and permanently controlled by Ukraine. Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksii Reznikov himself admitted in a Monday Financial Times report that a prime worry remains the ability to hold on to the territory amid superior Russian munitions and supplies. “A counter-offensive...

The exchange rate reached 57.67 rubles per dollar at 08:13 GMT, its firmest against the US currency since March 2018, according to data from the Moscow Exchange. The ruble also gained nearly 5% on the euro, with the exchange rate now below 60 rubles per euro, hitting a seven-year high. According to Bloomberg, the Russian currency has become the world’s best-performing currency this year despite its sharp drop in April sparked by unprecedented economic sanctions placed on Russia.

LONDON (REUTERS) -The Kremlin said on Thursday (April 21) that Moscow was still waiting for Ukraine's response to Russia's latest written proposal in peace talks between the two sides, and questioned why Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky was unaware of the document. Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he had not seen or heard about the text the Kremlin said it had sent. "I repeat once again, as I said yesterday, our formulations, in fact the latest version, were handed to our opponents, to the Ukrainian negotiating delegation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Mr Peskov said the Kremlin was aware...