Russia and Ukraine are talking about a peace deal while their soldiers kill each other, but there has been no breakthrough and they remain far apart on the question of territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the "special military operation" in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia, and Moscow had to defend against the persecution of Russian-speaking people by Ukrainian leadership.
Ukraine says it is fighting against an imperial-style land grab and that Putin's claims of genocide are nonsense.