Dhaka, Dec. 26 -- Russia is doubling down on its claims on Ukraine, in an apparent effort to demonstrate some military achievement in 2025 at home and to influence peace talks with the United States.Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters last Friday in a year-end news conference that Moscow's forces had seized Siversk in the eastern region of Donetsk and Vovchansk in the northern Kharkiv region.Putin also claimed Russian forces held at least half of Lyman and Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, and Hulyaipole in the southern Zaporizhia region - all front-line towns.Ukraine observers begged to differ. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, said satellite and open-source visual evidence contradict Putin."ISW ...