Ukrainian troops cut Putin's two-pronged frontline breach in HALF in wake of Trump summit in major blow to Vlad
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UKRAINE has managed to cut Russia's two-pronged frontline incursion in half in the latest major blow to Vladimir Putin.
Moscow suddenly breached an area in the Donetsk region as a reported 110,000 troops advanced on the eastern front being swiftly contained and pushed back.
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Ukraine's armed forces prepare a Howitzer in Donetsk as they fight back against Russia's two-pronged frontline incursion
Credit: Getty
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Dozens of Russian military assets have been left up in flames as Ukraine continues to push back any advancing troops
Credit: X/@NAFORaccoon
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Soldiers of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, known as 'Kholodnyi Yar' fire an anti-aircraft gun equipped with a thermal imaging camera in Donetsk region
Credit: Getty
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Putin's bloodthirsty forces reportedly advanced by at least 10km north in two prongs as part of his attempt to capture the entire Donetsk region.
The terrifying development came just days before the Alaska summit with Donald Trump and was seen as a warmongering Putin trying to gain the upper hand ahead of the talks.
Moscow currently controls over 70 per cent of the highly-contested Donetsk region.
Capturing it entirely would allow Putin's forces to cause major disruption to supply lines on the eastern front and force Ukraine into submission.
read more in Ukraine war
PEACE PLOT Trump & Putin 'plan West Bank-style occupation of Ukraine' to secure truce
Despite the Russians making an initial burst into Ukrainian territory these advances soon petered out.
Ukrainian troops have since been able to drive the enemy away from positions near Rubizhne, Zolotyi Kolodiaz, Vesele, Vilne Shakhove, Nikanorivka, and Sukhotske, according to data from DeepState.
Fierce battles erupted near the coal mining town Dobropillia with the 1st Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard announcing several hundred casualties for the Russians.
The valiant corps also destroyed a Russian tank, took out two IFVs and managed to damage 37 light vehicles and three artillery pieces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also publicly praised the 1st Corps as well as several other units working in the Donetsk region in recent days.
Speaking on X today, he said: "We are defending our positions along the entire front line.
Donald Trump vows full peace deal not 'mere ceasefire' after Alaska summit as Zelensky to head to White House
"For the second day in a row, we have achieved successes in some extremely difficult areas in the Donetsk region – in the direction of Dobropillia and Pokrovsk.
"The destruction of the occupiers who tried to infiltrate deeper into our positions continues."
Zelensky, who is now planning to meet Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss a peace deal to end the war, added: "I am grateful to all our warriors for their resilience."
He also made a special shout out to the units of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade 'Kholodnyi Yar' squad.
Footage of the resilient forces battling on the ground and in the air in the village of Vesele shows them eliminating dozens of Putin's men.
A clip shows a kamikaze drone smashing straight into two bumbling troops as they venture across a road.
Another shows a missile being dropped from the sky and exploding upon impact as it hits its Russia target below.
The Kholodnyi Yar unit were even responsible for capturing several soldiers and making them prisoners of war.
Has the Alaska summit helped broker a peace deal?
AS Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin both flew out of Alaska on Friday it appeared as though the summit was an utter failure in the eyes of Ukraine.
There had been no agreements on a peace deal as Trump appeared to be hesitant to truly reveal what demands Putin was making.
But a few hours after the meeting ended Trump took to social media to reveal the meeting was a success in his eyes.
Trump said Russia and Ukraine both believe a full peace deal is "the best way" to end the war - rather than a short term ceasefire.
Now diplomatic sources have revealed some of the initial details of the potential agreement, according to news agency AFP.
The US has reportedly proposed an agreement that would see Ukraine not join Nato - but instead be offered Nato-esque protections similar to Article 5.
Article 5 on Nato's founding treaty agrees collective defense - meaning allies see an attack on one as an attack on all of them.
Trump reportedly floated the plan with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders during a call after his meeting with Putin.
The US President is set to discuss the terms of an agreement with Zelensky on Monday when he travels to the White House.
Zelensky did not directly address any potential plan but he did say on X: "We discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing security for Ukraine."
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A Ukrainian walks through his decimated restaurant on the frontline near Dobropillia after a Russian strike at the start of the week
Credit: Getty
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A clip shows a kamikaze drone smashing straight into two bumbling Russian troops in Vesele
Credit: X/@NAFORaccoon
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The National
2 hours ago
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Independence won't come to a nation feart of itself
Thing is, water doesn't really do borders. Seemingly, this (and much else) seems to have escaped the US president, who thought he could make the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America with a swift stroke of a handy Sharpie. (Such is his legendary vindictiveness; he subsequently banned a news agency from White House press conferences following their refusal to sign up to this geographical lunacy!) In truth, land borders are always more problematic. Just ask Ukraine. Or Canada, for that matter, given Donald Trump's sudden enthusiasm for turning an entire country into nothing more than a US state. READ MORE: Tree-planting is not climate change fix, report urges And land borders became rather more difficult for Scotland when, despite voting Remain – as did Northern Ireland – we found ourselves adjoining a non-EU country in the shape of England. 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Would that we could orchestrate something similar. According to the current First Minister, his plan is the only one which would confer international legitimacy on declaring ourselves a separate state. Some 43 SNP branches choose to differ. It will be, to quote his party, a huge 'democratic deficit' if the annual conference body swerves a proper debate on ALL the options. The longer the wait goes on, the more impatient I become for a Scottish government to stop being super cautious and risk-averse. READ MORE: Kate Forbes: Scotland's stories are being lost as tourists focus on aesthetic posts Meanwhile, amid the publishing furore accompanying Nicola Sturgeon's memoir, not many people have cottoned on to the reasons she gives for our not having Baltic-style smeddum. She traces it back to the referendum of March 1979, when a London-based Scottish MP came up with the notorious 40% rule which said that only if 40% of the entire electorate voted Yes, could it succeed. Not only would a simple majority not suffice (although, at 51.6%, one was obtained) but effectively everyone who couldn't be bothered to vote was assumed to be a No. Sturgeon wasn't old enough to have a vote herself at that juncture but she declares in Frankly: 'The effect of this on the Scottish psyche is hard to overstate. It's always been part of the Scottish character – or at least the caricature of it – that we talk the talk much better than we walk the walk. We are full of bravado but, when push comes to shove, lack the gumption to follow through.' There will be those who would turn the same judgement on her, given the various trigger points ignored during her term of office. But the point is well made. In various tests of resolve Scotland has proved too feart to take the ultimate plunge. Maybe we won't until, Baltic-style, we construct a huge and enthusiastic majority. If we needed further proof that Scotland is indeed a goldfish bowl for frontline politicians, we need look no further than the media furore surrounding the publication of the Sturgeon memoir. How much of this is down to the publishers extracting maximum coverage for their much-anticipated book launch, and how much is self-inflicted we might never know. What is undeniable is that every jot and tittle of the former First Minister's thoughts have been minutely scrutinised and analysed. Every time she opens her mouth these days, it seems to prompt another media feeding frenzy. It was the late Margo MacDonald who declared that if every indy-minded person convinced just one other voter, the 2014 poll would have spelled victory for the Yes camp. She wasn't wrong then; she still isn't. It won't be an easy ask. There are those who are implacably opposed to breaking the Union, and nothing and nobody will dissuade them. Their views can and must be respected but, to quote a certain PM, they are not for turning. Not ever. However, there is a soggy centre who can be won over with an honest appraisal of the benefits independence might bring. Not to mention an honest look at how the statistics are continually pochled and never in our favour. There must be a similarly frank flagging up of the downsides; few countries have made an entirely seamless transition to determining their own destinies. The bumps in the road will soon enough appear. Then again, no country has ever concluded that reverting to servile status is an option. I've just been reading a book about Scottish timelines which puts all of our significant milestones into both a UK and a global context. Among much else, it reminded me what an ancient and proud nation we have been, one which long preceded the Unions of the Crowns and Parliaments. Obviously, one of our milestones was the 1707 Act of Union, which rarely, these days, feels much of a union and certainly not a partnership. In those days, the electorate consisted of feudal nobles, lesser nobles with feudal rights, and representatives from royal burghs (with varying electorates). Even so, with Jock Tamson's bairns only able to look on impotently, the majority was a mere 43. That all led to a British parliament in which 150 Scottish peers were graciously permitted to anoint 16 of their own to the Upper House, 30 MPs were to represent the counties, and a whole 15 covering all the burgh districts. As ever, the establishment looked after its own. Thus were the most powerful recipients of feudal favours able, rather modestly, to shape the new parliament. Of course, we still await the answer to the question often posed but never answered; if this is an alleged partnership of equals, how can this alleged partner extricate themselves? Not that the breath is being held.
