Latest news with #DonetskRegion
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
In Donbas, Ukrainians hold out as Russia besieges, bargains for their land
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — When President Donald Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, Oleksandr Bulka, 35, had high hopes the talks would result in at least a partial ceasefire to halt Russian air attacks on Ukrainian civilians like him. The next morning, he awoke with his legs crushed under the rubble of his apartment in the eastern town of Bilozerske. A Russian glide bomb had smashed into a neighboring building, sending a shock wave toward him. He dragged himself downstairs, where medics rushed him to a hospital in Kramatorsk, the fortified Ukrainian city that Russia still hopes to seize.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Ukrainian troops cut Putin's two-pronged frontline breach in HALF in wake of Trump summit in major blow to Vlad
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. 7 7 7 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. 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." 7 7 7
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ukraine scrambles to roll back Russian advance in the east ahead of summit
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — Ukrainian troops are racing to claw back a key stretch of land on the eastern front after a surprise Russian advance bolstered Moscow's position ahead of Friday's summit in Alaska between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine rushed elite troops to try to seal the disastrous breach after small groups of Russian foot soldiers exploited weak points on Ukraine's flanks and pushed more than nine miles toward the eastern city of Dobropillya in rapid gains that threaten the security of the entire contested region.
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia makes sudden advance in Ukraine before Trump-Putin summit, maps show
By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -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 U.S. 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 defence, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement," DeepState said on its Telegram channel. U.S. 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. There was no immediate comment on the advance from Moscow. Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had ordered reinforcements to be deployed "to detect and destroy enemy sabotage groups that penetrate the line of defence," Andriy Kovalov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army, told Interfax-Ukraine. He said Russia was using its numerical superiority to try to infiltrate Ukrainian defence lines in small groups and had made 35 attempts to push back Ukrainian units, suffering heavy losses in the process. Viktor Trehubov, another Ukrainian military spokesperson, played down the development, saying the infiltration did not amount to a breakthrough. Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said the situation had escalated rapidly, with Russian forces infiltrating past Ukrainian lines to a depth of roughly 17 km (10 miles) during the past three days. "Forwardmost Russian units have reportedly reached the Dobropillia – Kramatorsk road T0514 and Russian infiltration groups have also been reported near Dobropillia proper," he wrote on X. RUSSIA MAY GAIN LEVERAGE FOR TRUMP TALKS 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. Solve the daily Crossword
Asharq Al-Awsat
12-08-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russian Forces Make Sudden Thrust in Eastern Ukraine, Open Source Data Shows
Russian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine near the mining town of Dobropillia in a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Ukraine 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 quickly advanced up to 10 km (six north in two prongs in recent days, part of their drive to take full control of Ukraine's Donetsk region. DeepState said they had advanced near three villages on a section of the frontline associated with the two key Ukrainian strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka. 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 There was no immediate comment on the battlefield development from Moscow. Ukrainian military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said only small groups were penetrating defensive lines, and this did not amount to a breakthrough. Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said the situation had escalated rapidly, with Russian forces infiltrating past Ukrainian lines to a depth of roughly 17 km (10 miles) during the past three days. "Forwardmost Russian units have reportedly reached the Dobropillia – Kramatorsk road T0514 and Russian infiltration groups have also been reported near Dobropillia proper," he wrote on X. 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 what he called "a partial collapse in the front" due to Ukraine's shortage of soldiers. He said, without citing evidence, that Ukraine had redeployed elite forces to try to thwart the advance. Russia's Interfax news agency and Ukrainian war bloggers reported the same. "This breakthrough is like a gift to Putin and Trump during the negotiations," Markov added, 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 - four places 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. Yuri Podolyak, a pro-Russian military blogger, said Russia had yet to commit substantial forces to exploit the breach and try to secure an operational breakthrough. 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.
