After clinging for more than seven months to a gradually shrinking area, Ukraine has seen its position worsen sharply in the past week.

Order comes after Washington asked Putin to consider a 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine, and after Russian forces retook a swath of territory in Kursk

As momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia , Ukraine has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip. The Ukrainian army stunned Russia in August by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,