Ukraine war briefing: Russia bans voting against the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 40-day campaign to “influence” Russia into ending the war expired last week without much fanfare.

Close to four and a half years into the war in Ukraine, Russia is under pressure from dogged Ukrainian strikes on oil and commercial sites and stalled progress on the battlefields snaking through the east of the country.

The Kremlin has taken advantage of this vulnerability by deliberately shifting its defence production towards ballistic missiles.