Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Shtekel)

Russia “increasing the pace” of its gains in Ukraine despite Donald Trump’s please for Vladimir Putin to end the war.

The Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) latest intelligence update on the conflict says Russian troops are seized more of their neighbour’s territory throughout May and June.

In a post on X, the MoD said: “Russian ground forces highly likely seized approximately 550-600 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in June 2025, an average of approximately 18-20 sq km per day.

“This was a slight increase from Russian advances in May 2025, which was itself a notable increase on the approximately 200 sq km of Ukrainian territory in April 2025.”

The MoD said the gains were “largely in rural, less built-up areas”.

“Russia has focused on identifying weak areas across the defensive line,” they said.

“Small assaults enable Russia to probe and........

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