Ukraine's soldiers ‘preparing for a long war' as peace talks continue
Suggestions by United States President Donald Trump regarding territorial exchanges and reports of abandoning the Donetsk region have deepened confusion among Ukrainian fighting forces.
Many soldiers anticipate a prolonged conflict, expecting at best a brief pause in hostilities before Russia resumes its assault with greater force.
'We are preparing for a long war. We have no illusions that Russia will stop,' said Serhii Filimonov, commander of the 'Da Vinci Wolves' battalion of the 59th brigade.
Heavy fighting continues around Pokrovsk, a key Russian target, with soldiers noting that hostilities often intensify whenever new peace talks are initiated.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Putin races to seize Ukrainian land before Trump talks
Russia is racing to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible ahead of peace talks with Donald Trump on Friday. In what may prove to be a major breakthrough for Vladimir Putin, Russian sabotage and reconnaissance units punched through exposed defences in eastern Ukraine, slipping as far as six miles behind the front line in just 48 hours, according to battlefield reports. Kyiv has diverted special forces units to confront the insurgents on the ground, in a bid to prevent any more of Ukraine falling under Russia's control before the highly anticipated summit in Alaska. The location, near Dobropillya in Donetsk, is strategically significant. If Moscow's forces are able to establish a foothold, the breach could allow Russia to cut off the city of Kramatorsk, one of the most vital strongholds in the Donbas still under Kyiv's control. If the city falls, it would give Putin almost full control over the Donbas and strengthen his negotiating power when discussing Ukraine's fate with the Trump administration. A narrow but strategic wedge The territory seized lies to the east of Dobropillya, north of Pokrovsk and within striking distance of Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka – the so-called 'fortress belt' that has anchored Ukraine's Donetsk defences since 2014. Open-source mapping group DeepState reports that Russian units are pushing towards the Dobropillya–Kramatorsk highway, which until mid-July carried both military convoys and civilian traffic. Russian troops are also probing for footholds in Petrivka and Novovodiane, on the far side of the road. On Tuesday, Ukraine's military confirmed clashes around Kucheriv Yar, acknowledging Russian advances. Without elaborating on the location, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said Russia was preparing new 'offensive operations'. The new corridor places Dobropillya under direct threat. The mining town, already hit by repeated drone strikes, is emptying as civilians flee. 'It's a really difficult situation right now,' an officer from the 68th Brigade, who until very recently lived in Dobropillya, told The Telegraph. 'FVPs, gliding bombs and many other weapons are being used.' A single Russian glide bomb recently wiped out much of the main avenue's shops. Once a quiet rear-area city, like nearby Pokrovsk, it now finds itself under growing pressure — the strikes are a prelude to something far larger. On Monday night, local Telegram channels warned of suspected enemy infiltrators moving towards the city. Such fighting in recent weeks has taken place along an unfinished defensive line, with strikes on excavators, construction teams and soldiers. Where there should have been three anti-tank trenches, dragon's teeth and concertina wire, the section breached by small assault groups had just one trench — and even that was incomplete. 'I want to believe that our guys are going to hold on as long as they can. I've lived in Dobropillya, and I know citizens who are still sitting and waiting for things to be changed in a good way', the officer said. Popular military blogger Sternenko said on Telegram that Russian forces had also seized parts of the highway linking Donetsk's major population centres. 'The situation is critical,' he wrote. The Dobropillya–Kramatorsk route is a key artery connecting the fortress belt to Pokrovsk and other hubs, facilitating the flow of supplies, reinforcements and evacuations. Control or disruption could strangle Ukraine's logistics, hampering defence of the Kramatorsk–Slovyansk stronghold. Reports are already emerging of Russian FPV drones striking the road. If the highway is cut, Pokrovsk could be isolated, with a potential advance from Dobropillya completing its encirclement. Pokrovsk has already been under sustained Russian pressure for nearly a year and is flanked on three sides. For the Kremlin, success here would boost momentum at a time when Russia is making slow but steady gains across the front line. It would mean securing a key logistics choke point and opening a direct route into the heart of the Donbas, undoubtedly the most symbolically important target for Putin. If secured, it would also allow Putin to meet Mr Trump with tangible gains in hand as he presses Kyiv to give up land in Donetsk not even under the control of the Russian army. Kyiv on the defensive With Ukraine and Europe set to be frozen out of the Friday talks between Russia and the US, Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday: 'We see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations. 'In such circumstances, it is important that the unity of the world is not threatened.' Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky's closest adviser, added: 'Instead of showing readiness to end the war, the Russians are throwing everything they have into attacks on the front. The same barbaric tactics. And this at a time when Russia cannot even ensure the safety of its own skies for its citizens.' But criticism of Ukraine's leadership, both military and political, has grown. Bohdan Krotevych, a lieutenant colonel in the national guard, accused decision-makers of ignoring warnings and claimed Mr Zelensky was not receiving full briefings. 'The line of combat engagement as a fixed line does not actually exist,' he said. 'Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are almost surrounded. Kostiantynivka is in a semi-encirclement. The enemy is advancing toward Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka,' Mr Krotevych continued. 'The problem has been escalating since last year. This was publicly warned about, and it has come to pass exactly as predicted.' Yuri Podolyak, a pro-Russian military blogger, said Russia had yet to commit substantial forces to try and secure an operational breakthrough, with the offensive so far being carried out by sabotage groups, which are small, specialised units trained to conduct covert, disruptive operations behind enemy lines. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the move is not yet a major breakthrough, but warned the next few days could prove pivotal as Russian forces look to consolidate their gains. This potentially gives Ukraine a chance to thwart Russia's advance before it grows into something much larger. Preliminary reports suggest the 33rd Brigade was deployed in the area of the Russian infiltration. Fresh forces from the newly established 1st Azov Corps — made up of five brigades — have also been sent to stem the bleeding. 'Many times we can't rely on weaker units deployed on the flanks to do their job,' an Azov officer told The Telegraph days before problems in this sector of the front became public. Elements of the strong 92nd Brigade were also sent in the past days, according to preliminary reports. DeepState reports that Ukrainian troops are rushing to throw up new defensive lines around Zolotyi Kolodiaz, Shakhove and nearby settlements, positions currently bypassed by Russian troops but vulnerable to seizure. 'After final consolidation and accumulation, attempts to move deeper into the territory will be inevitable, and drone crews will be brought in, which will complicate the restructuring of alternative logistics and the maintenance of surrounding positions by Ukrainian forces,' DeepState warned. 'With this development of events, if it does not change, we may encounter a situation where Dobropillia falls faster than Pokrovsk.' History repeating Moscow has used peace talk cover for offensives before. In 2014, Russian forces staged escalations in the run-up to and during negotiations, creating 'facts on the ground' to lock in gains before a ceasefire. 'This is critical. In both 2014 and 2015, Russia launched major offensives ahead of negotiations to gain leverage. The current situation is serious, but far from the collapse some suggest,' said Tatarigami_UA, a former Ukrainian army officer whose Frontelligence Insight tracks the conflict closely. Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said the advance may have been designed to increase pressure on Kyiv to cede some land to prevent the Russian army from eventually taking the rest of Donetsk by force. To do that, though, Russian forces would need to take control of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka - the so-called fortress cities. Some analysts critical of Kyiv's handling of the situation have played down the severity — at least for now. 'We are still talking about a penetration rather than a breakthrough as the operational implications are still limited', said John Helin, analyst and founder of the Black Bird Group. 'Despite the depth, we're still mostly moving in the realm of tactics here, for now.' The fear among some officers who spoke to The Telegraph is that the ongoing assault could be a prelude to a much larger breach. The road reportedly taken by Russian forces runs along high ground, just like the one near Ocheretyne, a small village beyond Avdiivka that was designed to hold out, but whose fall in spring 2024 was followed by a major territorial loss. The nature of Russia's latest assault also suggests Moscow may be shifting its strategy: seizing roads, fields and tree lines to force Ukrainians to abandon cities they can no longer supply or rotate troops into. That would be the worst-case scenario, though — for now, what is happening appears to be small Russian units slipping through a porous defensive line without mechanised vehicles. In any case, Ukraine will fear that by the time Putin sits down with Trump, he may already have shifted the map in his favour.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Tusk says Poland must not let Russia drive wedge between Warsaw and Kyiv
WARSAW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The Polish prime minister said on Tuesday that Russia was seeking to drive a wedge between Warsaw and Kyiv ahead of peace talks, after an outcry over a spectator waving a Ukrainian nationalist flag at a concert in Poland's national stadium. Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers since Russia invaded in 2022, but some Poles have grown weary of refugees from their war-torn neighbour, while historical tensions between the nations over World War Two massacres have at times risen to the surface, straining ties and boosting the Polish far-right. Many Poles were angered by footage shared on social media which showed an audience member at a concert in the National Stadium in Warsaw on Saturday waving the red and black flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist group Poland says was involved in the 1943-1945 Volhynia massacres of Poles. However, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a government meeting that Poles and Ukrainians must not allow themselves to be divided ahead of a crucial summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. "It's truly fundamental from the perspective of Polish security that Putin not receive gifts before these talks, and such a gift for Putin would undoubtedly be conflict between Ukrainians and Poles," Tusk said. "This is precisely the... goal of Russian agents and Russia's actions in Poland." The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump on Wednesday before his summit with Putin in Alaska, amid fears that Washington, hitherto Ukraine's leading arms supplier, may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Kyiv. Warsaw police said they had detained 109 people during the concert by Belarusian rapper Max Korzh for offences ranging from drug possession to assaulting security personnel. Tusk said that proceedings were underway to deport 63 people following the disturbances at the concert - 57 Ukrainians and six Belarusians. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian man who was filmed waving the UPA flag apologised for his actions in a video shared on social media, saying that he had only meant to show support for his country.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Land swaps with Russia are not only unpopular in Ukraine. They're also illegal
A peace deal that requires Kyiv to accept swapping Ukrainian territory with Russia would not only be deeply unpopular. It also would be illegal under its constitution. That's why President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has categorically rejected any deal with Moscow that could involve ceding land after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested such a concession would be beneficial to both sides, ahead of his meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Zelenskyy said over the weekend that Kyiv 'will not give Russia any awards for what it has done,' and that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.' The remarks came after Trump said a peace deal would involve swapping of Ukrainian territories by both sides 'to the betterment of both.' For Zelenskyy, such a deal would be disaster for his presidency and spark public outcry after more than three years of bloodshed and sacrifice by Ukrainians. Moreover, he doesn't have the authority to sign off on it, because changing Ukraine's 1991 borders runs counter to the country's constitution. For now, freezing the front line appears to be an outcome the Ukrainian people are willing to accept. A look at the challenges such proposals entail: Russia occupies about a fifth of Ukraine Russia occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, from the country's northeast to the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed illegally in 2014. The front line is vast and cuts across six regions — the active front stretches for at least 1,000 kilometers (680 miles) — but if measured from along the border with Russia, it reaches as far as 2,300 kilometers (1,430 miles). Russia controls almost all of the Luhansk region and almost two-thirds of Donetsk region, which together comprise the Donbas, as the strategic industrial heartland of Ukraine is called. Russia has long coveted the area and illegally annexed it in the first year of the full-scale invasion, even though it didn't control much of it at the time. Russia also partially controls more than half of the Kherson region, which is critical to maintain logistical flows of supplies coming in from the land corridor in neighboring Crimea, and also parts of the Zaporizhzhia region, where the Kremlin seized Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Russian forces also hold pockets of territory in Kharkiv and Sumy regions in northeastern Ukraine, far less strategically valuable for Moscow. Russian troops are gaining a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region. These could be what Moscow is willing to exchange for land it deems more important in Donetsk, where the Russian army has concentrated most of its effort. 'There'll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody. To the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both,' Trump said Monday. Ukrainian forces are still active in the Kursk region inside Russia, but they barely hold any territory there, making it not as potent a bargaining chip as Kyiv's leaders had probably hoped when they launched the daring incursion across the border last year. Swapping Ukrainian controlled territory in Russia, however minuscule, will likely be the only palatable option for Kyiv in any land swapping scenario. Conceding land risks another invasion Surrendering territory would see those unwilling to live under Russian rule to pack up and leave. Many civilians have endured so much suffering and bloodshed since pro-Moscow forces began battling the Ukrainian military in the east in 2014 and since the full-scale invasion in 2022. From a military standpoint, abandoning the Donetsk region in particular would vastly improve Russia's ability to invade Ukraine again, according to the Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War. Bowing to such a demand would force Ukraine to abandon its 'fortress belt,' the main defensive line in Donetsk since 2014, "with no guarantee that fighting will not resume,' the institute said in a recent report. The regional defensive line has prevented Russia's efforts to seize the region and continues to impede Russia's efforts to take the rest of the area, ISW said. Ukraine's constitution poses a major challenge to any deal involving a land swap because it requires a nationwide referendum to approve changes to the country's territorial borders, said Ihor Reiterovych, a politics professor in the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. 'Changes in territorial integrity can be done only by the decision of the people — not the president, the cabinet of ministers or the parliament can change it,' he said. 'In the constitution it is written that only by referendum can changes to Ukraine's territory be conducted.' If during negotiations Zelenskyy agrees to swap territory with Russia, "in the same minute he will be a criminal because he would be abandoning the main law that governs Ukraine,' Reiterovych said. Trump said he was 'a little bothered' by Zelenskyy's assertion over the weekend that he needed constitutional approval to cede to Russia the territory that it captured in its unprovoked invasion. 'I mean, he's got approval to go into a war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap?' Trump added. 'Because there'll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.' Zelenskyy is still trying to regain the people's trust that was damaged when he reversed course on a law that would have diminished the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdogs. The move was a red line for those citizens who are protective of the country's institutions and are suspicious of certain members of Zelenskyy's inner circle. Freezing the conflict seems a lesser evil for Ukraine Analysts like Reiterovych dismiss a land swap as a distraction. Freezing the conflict along the current front line is the only option Ukrainians are willing to accept, he said, citing recent polls. This option would also buy time for both sides to consolidate manpower and build up their domestic weapons industries. Ukraine would require strong security guarantees from its Western partners to deter future Russian aggression, which Kyiv believes is inevitable. Still, freezing the conflict will also be difficult for Ukrainians to accept. Along with the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the partial occupation of Luhansk and Donetsk after that, it would require accepting that the Ukrainian military is not able to retake lost territories militarily. Kyiv accepted its inability to retake these territories but never formally recognized them as Russian. A similar scenario could unfold in the new regions taken by Russian forces. It also is not a viable long-term solution. 'It is the lesser evil option for everyone and it will not provoke protests or rallies on the streets,' Reiterovych said. —- Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed.
