As US election nears, Ukraine's allies worry about what comes next

WASHINGTON - Russia continues a slow, grinding advance across the entire front line in Ukraine as a close US election looms, the result of which will have major repercussions for Kyiv's ability to fight back.

Moscow's army will still be able to achieve tactical gains on the battlefield despite new record losses, said Western officials who declined to be named while discussing sensitive information.

Russia now suffers around 1,200 casualties in Ukraine every day, National Security Council spokesman Iohn Kirby said on Oct 21.

Russian troops continue to push forward in the eastern Donetsk region, whose control remains Moscow's immediate strategic goal.

The stronghold town of Vuhledar recently fell to Moscow, while the logistics hub of Pokrovsk is increasingly in jeopardy.

Ukrainian soldiers are also gradually losing ground in Russia's Kursk region, where they launched a surprise incursion in August.

After more than 1,000 days of brutal fighting, the US election marks a watershed moment for Ukraine.

Officials in Kyiv and around Europe are concerned that a victory for Donald Trump could see Ukraine forced into a painful settlement that would allow President Vladimir Putin to consolidate his hold on the country's territory.

While President Volodymyr Zelensky has pledged to keep fighting, the harsh reality is that his exhausted military is heavily reliant on US aid.

Some of Ukraine's allies have already started to talk about how the war might end.