Russian Advance in Donetsk: The Battlefield Outpaces Diplomacy in Ukraine
The balance of power on the ground continues to tilt in Russia’s favor in Ukraine, where its forces are making further territorial gains against a smaller and less equipped Ukrainian army.
On Saturday, Moscow announced the capture of two villages in the eastern region, as it intensifies its military pressure while diplomatic efforts to end the conflict accelerate.
In a statement published on Telegram, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces had taken control of the villages of Sredni and Kleban-Byk.
On the Road to Kramatorsk
The capture of the second village marks an additional step toward the city of Kostiantynivka, a key stronghold on the route to Kramatorsk, home to a major Ukrainian logistical base.
In recent months, Russian forces have consolidated more ground gains against Ukrainian troops weakened in manpower and equipment.
At the same time, prospects for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have diminished, after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would make an “important” decision within two weeks, which could include new sanctions on Russia, amid the deadlock in U.S.-led mediation efforts.
On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Ukrainian president of obstructing a potential meeting with his Russian counterpart, following similar accusations made by Zelensky against Moscow the day before.
Currently, the Russian army controls around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Fading Hopes
The likelihood of a summit between Moscow and Kyiv has further decreased. Earlier in the week, Trump had said that Putin and Zelensky, whom he had met separately, had agreed in principle to the idea of a summit. However, he later likened the two leaders to “oil and water,” stressing the extreme difficulty of bringing them together in the same room.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump noted that the two leaders “do not get along very well for obvious reasons.” He also revealed that he might invite Putin to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, should progress be achieved on the Ukrainian issue.
Lavrov, for his part, cast further doubt on the chances of direct talks between Putin and Zelensky by questioning the Ukrainian president’s legitimacy and reiterating the Kremlin’s demands.
In an interview with NBC News, Lavrov stated that Putin was “ready to meet Zelensky” once an agenda for the summit was agreed upon, but added that the latter was “not ready at all.”
In Kyiv, Zelensky replied that Ukraine “has no agreements with the Russians,” noting instead that the only understandings were with Trump regarding how to proceed with diplomatic initiatives.
A Road to the Unknown
The issue of potential security guarantees for Ukraine has taken center stage in U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to broker a peace settlement.
Trump had earlier declared that Russia had accepted some Western security guarantees for Kyiv.
Moscow, however, later expressed skepticism about any such arrangement. On Wednesday, Lavrov described discussions of security guarantees without Russia as “a fantasy and a road to the unknown.”
Zelensky, who insists on the presence of foreign forces in Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks, remarked: “When Russia raises the issue of security guarantees, I honestly do not yet know who is supposed to be threatening it.”
The Kremlin has long maintained that it would never accept such arrangements, pointing to Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO as one of the key reasons for its offensive.
