RUSSIA NEARS CAPTURE OF KEY UKRAINIAN TOWNS AFTER YEAR OF GRINDING ASSAULTS

RUSSIA NEARS CAPTURE OF KEY UKRAINIAN TOWNS AFTER YEAR OF GRINDING ASSAULTS: Russian troops have advanced at a glacial pace in recent months, but gains in southern and eastern Ukraine could give Moscow an edge in U.S.-mediated peace talks. By Constant Méheut Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine For over a year, Russian forces have slogged through battlefields in Ukraine without seizing a single urban stronghold. Now, these attritional