Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that Russian troops seem to be preparing for a new offensive rather than ceasefire and said his country must be involved in talks on its future, in advance of Friday’s US-Russia summit in Alaska.
Mr Zelenskiy is expected to join online talks hosted by Germany on Wednesday with several European leaders, top European Union and Nato officials and US president Donald Trump, as Kyiv’s military tries to shore up leaky defences in the eastern Donetsk region.
“We all support President Trump’s determination, and together we must... not allow Russia to deceive the world once again,” said Mr Zelenskiy 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.”
Ukrainian and western analysts who monitor the battlefield say Russian troops have advanced about 10km in recent days near the eastern mining town of Dobropillia, as they try to surround the nearby small cities of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka.
If they were to fall, it would exert further pressure on Kyiv’s two main remaining strongholds in Donetsk region – the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.
“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,” said Ukrainian analyst DeepState, which maps the ever-changing battlefield.
The Ukrainian military acknowledged but downplayed the development, claiming that only small groups of Russian troops were sneaking through the front line and were being destroyed before establishing a foothold in the rear and bringing up reinforcements.
The first Azov corps of Ukraine’s national guard said it had deployed to the area in recent days: “The situation remains complex ... Units of the corps have planned and taken measures to block enemy forces in a designated area.”
A respected military analyst and former Ukrainian soldier who uses the name Tatarigami_UA on social media noted that Russia had also launched big offensives before peace talks in 2014 and 2015, when fighting was confined to eastern Ukraine. Moscow has claimed this week to have made a significant breakthrough near Dobropillia.
“The current situation is serious, but far from the collapse some suggest,” he said. “A collapse ... means a loss of command and control, a breakdown in battlefield awareness, and an inability to regroup, withdraw in an organised fashion, or co-ordinate with units. To the best of my knowledge, none of these conditions are currently present.”
News from the battlefield deepened Ukrainian anxiety in advance of talks between Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv and European capitals fear they want to clinch a quick, sweeping agreement to end the war and present it to Ukraine and the world as a done deal.
“As for the negotiations ... they are important at the level of leaders, but it is impossible to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine and no one will accept it,” said Mr Zelenskiy.
“Therefore, the conversation between Putin and Trump may be important for their bilateral track. But they cannot agree anything about Ukraine without us. I really believe and hope that the US president understands and recognises this.”
On Monday evening, all EU leaders except Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban agreed on a statement that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine... The European Union underlines the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny and will continue supporting Ukraine on its path towards EU membership.”
