It is on its way to the summit planned for Friday with, confident that it is in a dominant position on the battlefield, while its army advances in.
This will probably strengthen its determination to ensure major territorial concessions when Russian and American presidents meet in Alaska, in exchange for a ceasefire that Putin has so far reluctant to grant Trump.
The Russian forces broke Ukrainian defenses in the eastern region of Donetsk, around villages that lead to the city of Dobropillya, according to the monitoring platform Deep State, which maintains cooperation with the Ukraine Ministry of Defense. They are consolidating positions and probing weaknesses in the defenses to try to reach the road that connects the city to the strategic municipality of Kramatorsk, the platform reported on Monday in a publication on Telegram.
Free tool
XP Simulator
Learn in 1 minute how much your money can yield
Putin and Trump should meet as the Russian army slowly advances in a summer campaign that is increasingly pressuring Ukrainian defenses, though still without a decisive advance. The Russian President has repeatedly rejected the appeals of Trump, Ukraine, and European leaders to agree with a ceasefire that allows negotiations for a Peace Agreement that endes the large-scale invasion that is already in his fourth year.
“Putin has much stronger letters to play than his opponents,” said Marina Miron, a military researcher at the King’s College London Defense Studies Department. “The Russian army is in the offensive and is dictating the rules.”
Only a few slightly armed Russians managed to get around the defenses around Dobropillya, and Ukraine is working to resume control, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters on Tuesday. Moscow wants to create the impression that “Russia is moving forward and Ukraine is losing before the Alaska summit,” he said.
Continues after advertising
Still, the Ukrainian forces face a difficult situation in the regions of Donetsk and Zaporizehzia, although they succeeded in repeling Russian troops in Luhansk and northern Sumy, Zelenskiy said. Russia may be relocating up to 30,000 experienced Sumy soldiers for the front lines in the regions of Zaporizehzia, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, in preparation for an offensive by the end of this month, he said.
Trump expressed disappointment with Putin’s intransigence after six calls this year. He threatened to impose secondary rates on countries that buy Russian oil unless Kremlin agreed with a truce until last Friday. But after conversations in Moscow last week between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, both sides announced their first summit meeting since Trump’s return to White House in January.
Zelenskiy and European allies plan a connection with Trump on Wednesday amid fear that the American leader can give too much to Putin in exchange for an agreement to interrupt the fighting.
Continues after advertising
While Trump presses to Russia to end the war, Putin wants Kiev to completely remove his forces from Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine before agreeing with any truce. This would give his army a victory in the so -called Donbas region, which has not been able to reach on the battlefield since Russia incited the fighting there in 2014.
US and Russian officials also discuss an agreement that would end the war over the current battle lines, leaving Russia in control of the parts of the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizehzia which he currently occupies, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine will not give in any of its territories to Russia. Territorial issues cannot be separated from security guarantees for their country because “for Russians, Donbas is a bridge head for a new future offensive,” he said.
Continues after advertising
Trump told reporters on Monday that there may be “some changes” in the territory as part of an agreement. “Let’s change the lines, the battle lines,” he said.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also said over the weekend that the territory “would have to be at the table” along with safety guarantees for Ukraine. European Union’s head of foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, countered on Monday, saying that “we should not even discuss any concessions” with Putin until Russia agrees with a total and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine.
Giving in to Putin’s demand for territory could deliver some of the most fortified Ukrainian positions in Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia, while allowing him potentially massive troop losses in months of friction war.
Continues after advertising
The growing scarcity of personnel is increasing the pressure on the defensive lines of Ukraine.
“Ukraine has not sufficient soldiers and infantry, and this is clearly the most significant challenge,” said Rob Lee, senior researcher at Foreign Policy Research Institute, based in Philadelphia, who recently visited the front lines of Ukraine. “The question here is really about sustainability” if the war extends to 2026 and beyond, he said.
Although the front line is not at risk of collapse, Russian pressure is increasing, and Moscow use of its own drone “offensive line”, known as Rubicon, reduced Ukraine’s advantage in this field, said Michael Kofman, senior researcher of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in an evaluation of July 31 on social networks after visiting the front line.
Continues after advertising
“Russian forces continue to adapt, and Ukraine needs to find ways to stay ahead,” he said.
Russia may be focusing on Dobropillya “to create informational conditions” before the Trump summit, according to the Study of War, headquartered in the US. Putin is trying to frame the taking of the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizehzia and Kherson “as inevitable to press Ukraine and the West to capitulate to Kremlin’s demands,” he said in an assessment of 11 August.
Even a failure to reach an agreement in Alaska can serve Putin’s interests if it gives you time to continue your offensive while Persuade Trump to postpone threatened American secondary tariffs, while negotiations continue to agree.
Russian forces have captured about 2,400 square kilometers in Ukraine so far this year, about 0.4% of the country’s territory, according to estimates by Bloomberg based on Deep State mapping data.
“Five key factors that we evaluate as critics to determine the outcome of the Russian-Uutira war, such as financial power, effective, firepower, morality and territorial control, indicate that Russia’s advantage continues to grow,” said Alex Kokcharov, Bloomberg Geoeconomic Analyst. “Moscow probably believes it has a significant advantage over Ukraine and that time is in its favor.”
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
