Russia breaks through Ukrainian frontline as Putin sends 110,000 troops into the meatgrinder days before Trump summit
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VLADIMIR Putin's forces have reportedly made a sudden breakthrough in Ukraine's front lines - just days before a showdown with Trump.
Around 110,000 Russian troops reportedly made the surprise thrust near the coal mining town of Dobropillia - marking the most dramatic advancement this year.
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Russian soldier raising a flag, reportedly following the capture of Yablunivka in Ukraine on August 12
Credit: Reuters
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It marks the most dramatic advancement in the front line this year
Credit: Reuters
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It comes before Trump's highly-anticipated talks with Putin on Friday
Credit: AP
The shocking development could give Putin an upper hand when he meets the US President for crunch talks on Friday.
The move could even be designed as a bargaining chip - increasing pressure on Kyiv to give up land.
Bloodthirsty Putin's forces have reportedly advanced by at least 10km north in two prongs in recent days, as part of their attempt to capture the entire Donetsk region.
Russian forces surged towards three villages on a section of the frontline near Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
Ukraine's DeepState authority said: "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."
Russian troops reportedly used small sabotage and infantry groups to carry out their advancement.
Ukrainian authorities said additional units had arrived in the affected areas.
Some of Putin's forces have reportedly already been eliminated or captured.
It comes as Russia accused Britain of trying to sabotage the Ukraine peace talks set to be held between Trump and Putin.
The Kremlin slammed the UK and accused it of trying to disrupt the crunch talks - after Sir Keir Starmer warned the Russian leader could not be "trusted".
Nazi lies, Vlad's propaganda & troops on border… chilling signs Putin ready to invade ANOTHER European nation after Ukraine
The Russian embassy in London said: "We note the ongoing attempts by London and some of its partners to disrupt a peace resolution of the conflict by eliminating its root causes.
"This is clearly demonstrated by the statements and activity developed by the British leadership in the run-up to the Russian-American summit in Alaska."
Sir Keir backed Trump's plans but urged to be more caution.
The PM's official spokesman said: "Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine.
"Any ceasefire cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again."
Trump said on August 8 that he hopes to hold a meeting with Putin in Alaska on August 15.
Washington and Moscow are said to be eyeing a deal to put an end to the bloody conflict in Ukraine - but it may not be all good news for Kyiv.
Trump told reporters in The White House that Zelensky is "going to have to get ready to sign something" in order to bring peace to his nation.
Top diplomats from the US and Russia and currently working on an agreement to finalise post-war territories, senior officials told Bloomberg.
Zelensky's invite to the peace talks is still being weighed up by the White House and it is currently unclear if he will attend or not.
Sources said Trump's team is trying to get Ukraine and its European allies on board to get a peace deal that would see Kyiv make some concessions.
One major sticking point for Moscow is the annexation of Ukrainian territory - one of Putin's long-term demands.
Zelensky has been adamant that Ukraine will not accept any further annexation of its land.
Although he suggested Russia could be allowed to retain some of the land it has taken.
Moscow is likely to demand that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area to Russia, as well as Crimea - which Moscow annexed in 2014.
This means Ukrainian troops will need to withdraw from the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk - the regions still being held by Kyiv.
In return, Moscow would stop its offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine along the current battlelines, according to the officials.
Kyiv risks being presented with a take-it-or-leave-it offer during the high-stakes meeting.
Zelensky has told European leaders they must reject any settlement proposals by the US that demand Ukraine give up further land.
Trump announced on Friday that the only way to resolve the issues is for both sides to accept losses of land.
He said: "It's complicated, actually. Nothing is easy. It's very complicated.
"We're going to get some switched. There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both."
The MAGA prez said he would try to return territory to Ukraine.
Don added: "Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory.
"We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine."
Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were "unchanged".
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