Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Russia has “won the war in Ukraine,” arguing that Kyiv’s defeat is already a fact and that Western governments must acknowledge it. In an interview published on 12 August, Orban—long criticised inside the European Union for his close ties to Moscow and opposition to military aid for Kyiv—contended that Europe missed its chance to negotiate with President Vladimir Putin and now risks having the conflict’s endgame decided without it. Orban’s remarks land just days before U.S. President Donald Trump meets Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss a possible cease-fire. Trump and several European leaders held a preparatory video call on Wednesday in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that no territorial deal be struck without Kyiv’s participation. On the ground, Russia accelerated its offensive in eastern Ukraine. An AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War found that Russian troops seized roughly 110 square kilometres within 24 hours on 12 August—their largest single-day gain in more than a year—pushing north of Pokrovsk in Donetsk. Zelensky confirmed Russian units had advanced about 10 kilometres in some sectors but said they were being counter-attacked. Ukraine’s military reported limited successes of its own, retaking two villages in the northern Sumy region earlier in the week. Overall, however, Russia now controls about 19 percent of Ukrainian territory, according to the same ISW data set, and analysts say Moscow is seeking to strengthen its hand ahead of the Alaska summit.