Russian forces are striving to shape the battlefield to their advantage before a high-stakes summit between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin, making a swift advance in eastern Ukraine after months of grinding battle.
In recent days, Russia’s troops broke through a segment of Ukraine’s defensive line near the city of Pokrovsk, a longtime stronghold. They have advanced several miles into Ukrainian-held territory, threatening to outflank Ukraine’s positions.
“The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defense, is infiltrating deep inside, trying to quickly establish a foothold and accumulate forces for further advancement,” said DeepState, a Ukrainian group with ties to the military that maps the battlefield.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in his evening address on Monday that the Russians “are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations” and that they are “not preparing for a cease-fire or an end to the war.”
Ukraine, too, is seeking an edge before the Russian-American peace talks on Friday in Alaska. Kyiv has ramped up attacks on Russian oil refineries, doubling down on its strategy of pressuring Russia into making concessions during negotiations by targeting the Kremlin’s main revenue source to fund the war.
Pressing their advantage as peace talks gather pace has been a recurring tactic of both sides throughout the current war and the one that preceded it starting in 2014. Ukraine’s bold June drone attacks deep inside Russia, which destroyed many strategic bombers, came just a day before negotiations in Istanbul. In 2015, Russia intensified fighting during cease-fire talks, surrounding the eastern town of Debaltseve, to force political concessions from Kyiv.
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