Putin says Russian troops are advancing onย every front. Inย reality, the main battle isย around Kramatorsk, and Ukraine could hold the city through 2026.
Russiaโs military offensive accelerated in late May and early June after months of stagnation and Ukrainian counterattacks. Vladimir Putin has declared that โthere is no place without an offensive,โ but the gains are limited to a few sectors. Ukraineโs defenses in Kostiantynivka โ at the southern end of the greater Kramatorsk area โ weakened sharply in recent weeks, allowing Russian forces to push toward the city center from two directions. Russiaโs advance also continues east of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, along the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River and near the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal. Russian pressure in the eastern Zaporizhzhia region has resumed in force after Ukrainian counterattacks halted the offensive there for several months. Elsewhere, Russiaโs progress is stalling at best, and Moscow is unlikely to capture the greater Kramatorsk area and adjacent parts of the Donetsk region before the end of the year.