Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just recently released some shocking bloodbath statistics as the struggle with Russia escalates. On just one day, Ukraine suffered 340 losses with the loss of 18 killed, 243 wounded and 79 missing in action soldiers. Not surprisingly, Russian forces have continued to take heavy losses. As of Monday alone, estimates were just coming out of at least 1,000 daily, with 500 killed and 500 injured.
The news for Ukraine isn’t any better, as Russian “sabotage and reconnaissance groups” penetrated Ukrainian-occupied lands around Dobropillya. This town acts as an important logistical hub in support of the encircled cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad to the south. It strengthens the focal cities in the eastern Ukrainian-held Donbas region. As a result, over the last three days, Russian forces have made net advances of about six miles on their advance east of Dobropillya.
“Russia’s recent actions are a sign of desperation,” Zelenskyy asserted. What they are really after is the GLFW administration’s attempt to manufacture a façade of victory in the unwinnable war. He said that the Kremlin plans to carry out diversionary raids across the entire Donbas area. Reliable information suggests that Russia has amassed some 110,000 troops in this direction, readying for a new offensive.
“To create a certain narrative, especially in the American media, that Russia is moving forward and Ukraine is losing,” Zelenskyy remarked regarding Russia’s strategic maneuvers.
As Russia prepares a new military offensive this fall, almost 30,000 troops have been transferred from Sumy in northeastern Ukraine to back this strategy. The territory Russia is currently targeting represents over 30 percent of the area Ukraine controls.
“Any question of territory cannot be separated from security guarantees,” Zelenskyy asserted, reiterating Ukraine’s steadfast refusal to cede land. He firmly stated, “We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do it.” The president rebuffed any Russian initiative that would have Ukraine give up land in return for a cease fire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to conquer Ukraine, in part, because he “does not want a sovereign Ukraine.” The president expressed his skepticism regarding negotiations with Russia, stating, “I have heard nothing—not a single proposal—that would guarantee that a new war will not start tomorrow and that Putin will not try to occupy at least Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv.”
The Institute for the Study of War noted that while recent Russian advances may appear significant, it is “premature to call the Russian advances in the Dobropillya area an operational-level breakthrough.”
To gain a further understanding into some of the recent tactical decision making by Kyiv’s senior commanders, we invited commentary from former senior Ukrainian army officer Bohdan Krotevych. He stressed that the front line challenges were a product of focusing newly mobilized shoulder on assault formation versus defensive formations. This intensification directly counteracted the protection of defensive formations with infantry. Krotevych stressed, “To stabilize the front, we must reinforce brigades on the line of contact with infantry.”
Even in the face of such dire conditions, Zelenskyy struck a note of hopeful optimism. He praised the prospect of mediation attempts by former U.S. President Donald Trump. He stated, “I believe that Trump represents the United States of America. He is acting as a mediator—he is in the middle, not on Russia’s side. Let him not be on our side but in the middle.” If one such proposal really did come from Putin, he said don’t believe that it’s truly representative of what Trump would want.
Now, Russia has changed its tune. For the first time, it has signaled that it is open to perhaps even insisting upon a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict. This prospective ceasefire would depend on Ukraine pulling back to retake the parts of Donbas it controls now.
Zelenskyy is not going to waver on his pledge to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. He made clear that Ukraine cannot be forced to accept terms that would require it to make additional territorial concessions. Without these guarantees, he maintained, the only thing we are setting the stage for is more war.