The forthcoming meeting may be expected to have a significant impact on developments on its subject, but developments in the field do not stop.
Rapid promotion of Russian forces in Pokovsk in view of the Trump – Putin meeting
According to the latest announcements from the Ukrainian side, Russian troops are promoted rapidly in a strategic area of the front in eastern Ukraine.
Promotion is recorded in the northeast of Pokovsk, a city with a mines and the focus of battles in Donetsk, the eastern Ukrainian region whose annexing Moscow claims.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that battles were in Kutsib Yar, a small village that was still a few weeks ago.
In just one day, Russia proceeded at least ten kilometers north along a street, according to the Deepstate military analysis website. As noted by the site, the rate of Russian promotion is much faster than usual.
On a map of the Front published by Deepstate, it appears a narrow corridor now under Russian control, which is a threat to Dobropylia, a city northwest of Pokrovsk in which a guard is stationed.
According to the US Institute of War Study (ISW) “Russian groups of sabotage and recognition penetrate zones near Dobropylia”.
The Institute, however, emphasized that it is “premature” to describe Russian promotion “operational penetration” and that the next few days will be “probably critical”.
A Ukrainian military blogger, Sternenko, wrote to the Telegram that this promotion allowed the Russian troops to occupy some parts of a street that connects important cities in the region. He had earlier stated that the situation was “critical”.
ISW compared this regular penetration with the one that had allowed, in April 2024, a major Russian promotion after the occupation of the city of Avdibba after a long and bloody battle.
Zelenski warns that Russia will not stop
In this context, Ukraine President Volodimir Zelenski also made statements on the issue apparently to send a message to the Trump side ahead of talks with Vladimir Putin to Alaska. More specifically, he said: “Russia is preparing for new attacks a few days before the scheduled meeting of US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“We see that the Russian army is not getting ready to end the war. On the contrary, they are making moves that suggest preparation for new attacks, “Zelenski wrote on X, without giving details of the location.
“In these conditions, it is important not to threaten the unity of the world.”
Europe supports Ukraine more than the US now
This message is obviously aimed at Trump Staff, and is also surrounded by Kielos Institute data on the global economy (IFW) for the military aid received by Kiev from the US and Europe. According to these European states, they have delivered more military assistance through the defense industry than the US.
Based on the Ukraine Support Tracker data on IFW, from the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine until the end of June 2025, European states have purchased a new military equipment worth more than 35.1 billion euros by € 4.4 billion in the US.
According to the Institute, European states are now supplying almost half their military aid they provide to Ukraine through the weapons industry and not from the reserves of their armed forces. Of the 10.5 billion euros of European military aid made in May and June of this year, at least 4.6 billion are expected to reach orders to equipment companies, corresponding to a share of 43.8% of all military aid for Ukraine.
