Russia makes sudden advance in Ukraine before Trump-Putin summit
MOSCOW: Russian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine near the coal mining town of Dobropillia, a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Kyiv to give up land as the US and Russian presidents prepare to meet. Ukraine's authoritative DeepState war map showed on Tuesday that Russian forces had advanced by at least 10 km (six miles) north in two prongs in recent days, part of their drive to take full control of Ukraine's Donetsk region.
The advance is one of the most dramatic in the last year. DeepState said the Russians had surged forward near three villages on a section of the frontline associated with the Ukrainian towns of Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk, which Moscow is trying to encircle by exploiting Kyiv's lack of manpower. 'The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defense, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement,' DeepState said on its Telegram channel.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine when they meet in Alaska on Friday. Unconfirmed media reports say Putin has told Trump he wants Ukraine to hand over the part of the Donetsk region that Russia does not control.
Ukrainians must have the freedom to decide their own future, European Union member states said on Tuesday, weighing in ahead of talks between Trump and Putin. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump on Wednesday, before the summit in Alaska, amid fears that Washington, hitherto Ukraine's leading arms supplier, might dictate unfavorable peace terms to Kyiv.
'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,' the leaders of all EU countries except Hungary said in a joint statement, adding that any peace deal must respect international law, including Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.
Trump has said any peace deal would involve 'some swapping of territories to the betterment of both' Russia and Ukraine, prompting consternation in Kyiv and European capitals as virtually all the territory in question is Ukrainian.
Russian forces have made a sudden thrust further into eastern Ukraine near the coal mining town of Dobropillia, a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Kyiv to cede land as the US and Russian presidents prepare to meet. Ukraine's authoritative DeepState war map showed on Tuesday that Russian forces had advanced by at least 10 km (six miles) north in two prongs in recent days, part of their campaign to take full control of Ukraine's Donetsk region.
The advance is one of the most dramatic in the last year.
Tatarigami_UA, a former Ukrainian army officer whose Frontelligence Insight analysis tracks the conflict, posted: '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.' Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said the Russians had been able to advance due to 'a partial collapse in the front' due to Ukraine's shortage of soldiers.
'This breakthrough is like a gift to Putin and Trump during the negotiations,' Markov said, suggesting it could increase pressure on Kyiv to cede some land to prevent the Russian army eventually taking the rest of Donetsk by force. To do that, though, Russian forces would first need to take control of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka - which Russian military analysts call 'fortress cities'. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has publicly pushed back against the idea of ceding territory to Russia, saying any peace deal must be a just one.
Bohdan Krotevych, former chief of staff of Ukraine's Azov brigade and a National Guard lieutenant colonel, took to X late on Monday to warn Zelenskiy of the threat, saying the frontline in the area was 'a complete mess'. 'The line of combat engagement as a fixed line does not actually exist,' he said. – Reuters
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