Before the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, did Russian forces make a breakthrough on the Donbas front?

The Ukrainian military analysis website DeepState reported on Tuesday that Russian forces made a breakthrough on the Donbas front. However, President Zelenskyy later denied it, but he confirmed that "small groups" of Russian forces had advanced about 10 kilometers in some areas on the eastern front of Ukraine, and he assured that the Ukrainian army would "eliminate them all."

The action by Russian forces on Tuesday in the northeastern part of Pokrovsk on the eastern front has raised concerns. Is Russia accelerating its advance on the eastern front before the "Putin-Trump meeting" to expand its gains?

Zelenskyy told the media that the small-scale Russian infiltrators "had no heavy equipment, only weapons in their hands. Some have been eliminated, some captured. We will soon find the others and destroy them."

The U.S. Institute for the Study of War analyzed that it is still too early to call the Russian advance a "combat breakthrough," and the next few days "may be crucial."

Zelenskyy believed that these attacks aim to create "a public opinion that Russia is advancing and Ukraine is failing" before the planned meeting between Putin and Trump.

He also said that Moscow is preparing "new offensive actions" in three areas on the front line: "Zaporozhye, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka."

Earlier, the Ukrainian General Staff stated that they would deploy "troops" in the "Pokrovsk direction," where Russian forces are advancing. However, according to the Dnipro Operational Strategic Group, these were small units infiltrating the first line of defense, "there was no conquest of territory."

As the "Putin-Trump meeting" approaches, Zelenskyy ruled out the possibility of withdrawing from Donbas to end the war with Moscow on Tuesday. He told the media, "We will not withdraw from Donbas (including the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine). If this territory falls into Moscow's hands, the Kremlin will use it as a base for future attacks on Ukraine."

Zelenskyy also said that Putin's planned visit to Alaska to meet U.S. President Trump on Friday is a "victory" for the Kremlin.

Zelenskyy also told the media: "Putin will hold talks on American soil, and I think this is also a personal victory for him," he believes this meeting will help the Russian president escape "isolation" and delay possible U.S. sanctions against Moscow.

Zelenskyy wrote on X platform: "Russia is not preparing to 'end the war,' but rather to launch 'new offensives' in Ukraine."

Kyiv is worried that the meeting between Trump and Putin on Friday may result in an agreement that forces Ukraine to cede parts of its territory to Russia.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840298841555968/

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