Russian forces break through Ukraine frontline days before Putin-Trump summit
Vladimir Putin's troops have reportedly staged a sudden breakthrough on the Ukrainian frontline - just days before the Russian leader is due to meet the US President for critical peace talks.
The unexpected push took place near the coal-mining town of Dobropillia and marks the most dramatic movement on the front line so far this year, possibly handing Putin a strategic advantage at the negotiating table on Friday. Reports claim around 100,000 Russian troops have moved at least 10km north in two separate thrusts over recent days, part of an ongoing campaign to capture the whole of the Donetsk region. Forces are also said to have pushed towards three villages in a section of the front near Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk.
Ukraine's DeepState authority warned: "The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defence, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement." It comes after Putin warned of a nuclear war after unleashing another night of hell on Ukraine.
Military sources say the latest assault relied on small sabotage and infantry groups to break through. Ukrainian officials confirmed that reinforcements had been sent to the area, and reported that some Russian soldiers had been killed or taken prisoner.
The escalation comes amid diplomatic tension, with Moscow accusing Britain of attempting to disrupt the forthcoming Trump-Putin meeting. The accusation followed comments from Sir Keir Starmer, who insisted the Russian leader could not be trusted. "Peace must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it," Starmer said on Monday, as he expressed concern that Kyiv could be left out of the negotiations.
Asked whether he thought Putin could be trusted, the prime minister's official spokesman said the UK supported both Kyiv and the US president's push for peace, but not Moscow. "Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine," he said.
"We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations. But it is exactly why we've been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.
"So we're not going to leave it to trust. We're going to ensure that we're prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Putin reaffirms friendship with North Korea ahead of Trump talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed his "friendship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ahead of his talks with Donald Trump on also comes as the BBC reported the "slave-like" condition facing thousands of North Korean workers sent to Russia to take part in construction and Kim spoke on Tuesday, with the Russian leader praising Pyongyang's military support for his country's war against week, Russia has been making fresh military advances in Ukraine, leading to a sudden thrust near the eastern town of Dobropillia and advancing 10km (six miles) in a short period of time. Kim and Putin "reaffirmed their commitment to the further development of friendship relations, good-neighbourliness and cooperation," the Kremlin said in a gave the North Korean leader an update on the Alaska summit's preparation, sharing with him "information in the context of the upcoming talks with US President Donald Trump," the Kremlin said. The official North Korean statement did not mention this. Repeating his earlier statement, Putin "praised the assistance provided by [North Korea's] support during the liberation of the territory of the Kursk region", according to his Ukrainian army briefly invaded Russia's Kursk region last year in an unexpected offensive that showed Western allies its capability to fight back against Russia, which currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine's territories. Putin and Kim spoke just days before the Russian leader is expected to travel to Alaska to meet Trump, his first face-to-face meeting with a US president since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February war, while causing Russia near-complete economic and diplomatic isolation from the West, has seen unprecedented collaboration between Moscow and Pyongyang. At least 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to fight side by side with their Russian counterparts, according to Ukraine and South Korea also provided Russia with missiles, artillery shells and many of Russia's men either killed or tied up fighting - or having fled the country - South Korean intelligence officials have told the BBC that Moscow is increasingly relying on North Korean more: North Koreans tell BBC they are being sent to work 'like slaves' in Russia
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Major US adversary believed to be behind 'unprecedented' cyber hack on US court data
Russia is believed to be behind an 'unprecedented' cyber hack that exposed some of the Department of Justice's most high-profile sources. Last week, it was revealed the hackers breached the electronic case filing system used by the federal judiciary - and may have accessed confidential information from federal district courts around the country. It has since been dug up by investigators that those responsible, at least in part, have Russian origins, just days before Donald Trump is set to meet with Vladimir Putin in Washington. Several people briefed told the New York Times that despite the certainty, it was unclear if the hackers were with Russian intelligence or if other nations were involved in what they call a yearslong effort. The searches involved in the breach often involved mid-level criminal files that featured people with Russian surnames. Last week, it was revealed that among the information that may have been compromised are the identities of confidential informants in criminal cases, though the identities of those who were thought to face exceptional risk for cooperating with the DOJ are held on separate systems than the ones hacked. Department of Justice officials under Attorney General Pam Bondi have reportedly been informed that the court files have faced 'persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors have recently compromised sealed records.' The staffers have been warned to remove any of their most important documents from the system. Officials are still dealing with figuring out the patterns of the breach and determine the complete damage done. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. Other information the hackers may have acquired are sealed indictments detailing confidential information about alleged crimes and arrests and search warrants that criminals may use to evade capture. The Administrative Office of the US Courts, which manages the federal court filing system, has now been left scrambling with the Department of Justice and district courts around the US to determine how much of a threat the hack poses. But an unidentified source who spent more than two decades on the federal judiciary told Politico: 'It's the first time I've ever seen a hack at this level.' It is now suspected that the attack was conducted by nation-state affiliated actors, though criminal organizations may have also been involved. Officials were first made aware of the breach around the July 4 holiday, and chief judges of the federal courts in the 8th Circuit - which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota - were alerted about the hack last week, according to Politico. It affected the judiciary's federal core case management system - which includes the Case Management/Electronic Case Files that lawyers use to upload and manage case documents as well as PACER, a system that gives the public limited access to the data. Roughly a dozen court dockets were also tampered with in one court district during the hack, an unidentified source said. The incident demonstrates the susceptibility of the outdated court filing system to hackers. PACER had even been hacked at least once before - back in July 2022 - in a breach that then-House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler described as 'startling in breadth and scope.' Michael Scudder, who chairs the Committee on Information Technology for the federal courts and national policymaking body, warned the House Judiciary in June of this year that more such attacks may be coming. He said that because the Judiciary holds such sensitive information, it faces 'unrelenting security threats of extraordinary gravity.' 'Experience has shown that the Judiciary is a high-value target for malicious actors and cyber criminals seeking to misappropriate confidential information and disrupt the judicial process in the United States,' he testified. 'These attacks pose risks to our entire justice system.' In fiscal year 2024, he noted, 200 million harmful cyber 'events' were prevented from penetrating court local area networks in fiscal year 2024, according to The Record. But, Scudder said, the Case Management/Electronic Case Files and PACER systems pose an even greater risk as they are 'outdated [and] unsustainable due to cyber risks and require replacement,' which he said is a 'top priority' for the Department of Justice. Still, Scudder said, a new, more modernized system would have to be 'developed and rolled out on an incremental basis.'
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Global News Podcast Zelensky rules out giving up Donbas
President Zelensky has vowed to reject any proposal from Russia that would mean Ukraine ceding territory or withdrawing troops from the eastern Donbas region. He was speaking ahead of a meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska on Friday. Donald Trump has said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories" and it is believed one of Vladimir Putin's demands is that Kyiv surrenders the parts of the Donbas it still controls. Also: A surgeon operating in Gaza tells us he has to recycle surgical parts from dead bodies to save the living, and the owners of the video game Fortnite take on Apple and Google over access in an Australian court. Plus: the UN tells torturers in Myanmar: "We know who you are", the heatwaves blasting much of Europe, the US puts a $5 million reward on the head of a gang leader in Haiti, a former first lady of South Korea is arrested, the American woman convicted of conspiracy to murder in Britain -- disguised in an Islamic headscarf, and how AI is helping to keep elephants in India safe. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@
