Russia in major Ukraine advance ahead of Trump-Putin meet in Alaska
Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine was gaining speed and seizing more ground Wednesday ahead of a summit in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
According to an AFP analysis of battlefield data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces have made their biggest 24-hour advance into Ukraine in more than a year.
And, as battle raged, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders met to hold urgent online talks with Trump, hoping to convince him to respect Kyiv's interests during Friday's looming summit with Putin.
Zelensky flew to Berlin and met Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday before both were to be joined online by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders as well as the heads of the EU and NATO.
They were then all set to hold a second call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance -- an effort Russia's foreign ministry branded "politically and practically insignificant" and an attempt at "sabotaging" US and Russian efforts to end the conflict.
Zelensky has not been invited to the Alaska meeting, fueling fears Kyiv could be forced into painful concessions.
The Ukrainian president said on social media Tuesday that "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."
With the world's eyes on the Alaska summit, Russia has made rapid advances this week in a narrow but important section of the front line in Ukraine's east.
An AFP analysis of data from Institute for the Study of War showed that the Russian army took or claimed 110 square kilometers (42.5 square miles) on August 12 compared to the previous day. It was the most since late May 2024.
In recent months, Moscow has typically taken five or six days to progress at such a pace, although Russian advances have accelerated in recent weeks.
- 'Fair peace' -
Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday that Russian troops had advanced by up to 10 kilometers (six miles) near the eastern coal mining town of Dobropillia, but said that Kyiv would soon "destroy them."
Russia -- which currently has full or partial control over 19 percent of Ukrainian territory -- said Wednesday that it had taken two villages close to Dobropillia.
The Russian military fired at least 49 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine during the night, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday.
At least three people were killed in Russian artillery and drone attacks on the southern Kherson region, regional officials said.
In the Donetsk region, authorities announced they had evacuated 1,200 people including 42 children from front line areas since Tuesday.
Ahead of his arrival in Berlin, Zelensky, whose team has spoken with more than 30 international allies in a few days, said "pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace".
"We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia. There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war," he said in a social media statement.
- 'Listening exercise' -
German government spokesman Steffen Meyer said the main aim of Wednesday's talks was to ensure that "Ukraine must be able to determine its own destiny and take control of its own future".
"No decisions should be made over the heads of the Ukrainian people," he said.
The fact that Zelensky had traveled to Berlin also showed that "Putin's attempts to drive a wedge between Europe and Ukraine, which we have seen time and again, have not been successful", he said.
Trump on Monday played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska but said he expected "constructive conversations" with Putin.
"This is really a feel-out meeting a little bit," Trump said. But he added that eventually "there'll be some swapping, there'll be some changes in land".
Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the aim was "for the president to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war".
"I think this is a listening exercise for the president."
Zelensky meanwhile has called the Alaska encounter a "personal victory" for Putin.
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