Ukraine battles a brutal Russian offensive as Iran war takes the world's focus

With the world’s attention shifting to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Russia is pushing forward with a spring offensive in Ukraine despite months of peace talks that no longer appear to be Washington’s priority.

KYIV, Ukraine — With the world’s attention shifting to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Russia is pushing forward with a spring offensive in Ukraine despite months of peace talks that no longer appear to be Washington’s priority.

While Moscow seeks to regain momentum and capture more territory four years into its full-scale invasion, Ukrainians caught up in the conflict told NBC News their hopes that President Donald Trump will settle their war while waging another in Iran are dwindling.

The Iran war is “definitely a distraction,” Senior Sgt. Volodymyr Rzhavskyi said. Rzhavskyi, 44, has been serving since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists first began fighting in Ukraine’s east. He has little faith in the peace talks, but remains “a hopeless optimist” that Ukraine “can win in this war, not just hold on, but win.”

In a phone interview from the Donetsk region, where he is currently stationed, Rzhavskyi said that with Trump preoccupied, Ukraine must continue to defend itself. “This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Rzhavskyi said. “We must dissuade the Russians from encroaching on anything Ukrainian for at least another hundred years.”

Oleksandr, a lieutenant who is serving in Ukraine’s south and did not want his last name or age revealed due to the sensitive nature of his service, said he is also ready to fight on. “As long as they push, we will kill them,” he said in a series of audio notes from the front lines. “We see that the peace process is deadlocked. Russia is asking for what we can’t give it — our land,” he added.