Media: US and European officials deny Trump's claim of Russian edge on battlefield

Multiple officials have told CNN that current US and European assessments show no new major developments on the battlefield or signs of Russia holding the upper hand, despite previous remarks by US President Donald Trump.

Multiple officials told CNN they see no signs that Russian forces can win the war quickly.

A Ukrainian military official has acknowledged Russian advances but said that "it is not a fundamental change from what has been happening over the last several months".

Western officials accept that the situation is difficult for Ukraine. "Ukraine is incrementally losing strategic ground in the east through attrition and limited defensive positions," a senior US official said.

Latvia's Foreign Minister Baiba Braže told CNN that "the truth is that in this last year, Russia has gained less than 1% of Ukrainian territory".

"So that, of course, is not the winning of the war. That's not the objective Putin and the Kremlin are looking for. He wants to deny Ukraine its sovereignty. He wants to subjugate Ukraine as a country. So they are not getting that on the battlefield," Braže said.

US President Donald Trump has recently claimed that Russia is in a stronger negotiating position on ending the war in Ukraine.

However, asked whether he might distance himself from Ukraine, the US president said that "it's not correct, but it's not exactly wrong".