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Ukraine Russia war latest: Zelensky warns Putin will launch new war from land ceded under Trump deal

Ukraine Russia war latest: Zelensky warns Putin will launch new war from land ceded under Trump deal

USA, Featured3 days ago5 Views

Russia closes in on Pokrovsk as fighting grinds on

Russia appears to be making small but significant gains in its efforts to capture Pokrovsk, an important and strategically-located city in the Donetsk region.

Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battlefield said the next 24-48 hours could be critical as Russia tries to advance near the city.

“Russian forces continued to infiltrate Ukrainian defences east and northeast of Dobropillya (northwest of Pokrovsk) using limited sabotage and reconnaissance groups on 12 August,” the Institute for the Study of War said.

It added: “Russian forces have yet to be able to deploy reinforcements to hold and exploit this tactical penetration and will likely face obstacles in trying to do so.”

Losing Pokrovsk would significantly complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of its military efforts.

“A lot will depend on availability, quantity and quality of Ukrainian reserves,” Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, wrote on social media late Monday.

Ukraine’s military said its forces are fending off Russian infantry units trying to infiltrate their defensive positions in the Donetsk region.

The region’s Ukrainian military command on social media on Monday acknowledged that the situation remains “difficult, unpleasant and dynamic”.

A Ukrainian National Guard serviceman of 3rd brigade Spartan runs through a tree line during a training not far from the frontline on Pokrovsk direction (AP)

Arpan Rai13 August 2025 04:56

White House says talks with Putin will be a ‘listening exercise’ for Trump

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said that the upcoming meeting between the two leaders will be a “listening exercise” for Trump.

She added that she is “very confident” the US president will remain optimistic after the summit in Anchorage in Alaska on Friday.

“Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present, so this is for the president to go and get a more firm understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end.”

The White House official also said there are plans in the works for Trump to visit Russia in the future.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House (AP)

Arpan Rai13 August 2025 04:37

Putin demands Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk, says Zelensky

Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk as part of any ceasefire deal potentially brokered by Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president said Putin wanted the the remaining 30 per cent, or 3,500 square miles, of the eastern region which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the three-and-a-half-year-old war.

Losing the rest of Donetsk would give Russia control of almost the entirety of the Donbas, the collective name for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that also includes neighbouring Luhansk.

Zelensky vowed Ukraine would “never leave” the Donbas and warned Putin’s troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion.

“We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Everyone forgets the first part – our territories are illegally occupied. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive,” he said.

Zelensky said he learned of Russia’s position after holding a call with Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, after Witkoff’s bilateral meeting with Putin.

Drone view shows destroyed buildings in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk (via REUTERS)

Arpan Rai13 August 2025 04:32

Drone debris sparks fire at refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar

Debris from a destroyed drone sparked a small fire that was later extinguished at the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, the local administration said this morning.

“There are casualties reported,” officials said. “The fire was promptly extinguished. Emergency and special services are working at the scene,” they said.

The Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day. It supplies fuel for both domestic use and export.

Arpan Rai13 August 2025 04:23

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