Marta Gichko12:05, 13.08.25
Even without an agreement, Putin can buy time to continue his offensive while avoiding additional US economic restrictions during the negotiations.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin will arrive for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday amid Russian military advances in Ukraine and confidence in its position. The Kremlin will seek to use those gains to extract significant territorial concessions in exchange for a cease-fire, Bloomberg reports .
According to the Deep State platform, Russian troops have broken through Ukrainian defenses in the area of villages on the approaches to Dobropillya in the Donetsk region and are trying to reach the road to Kramatorsk. Although the breakthrough was partial, the situation on the front in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions remains tense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow was trying to create the impression that “Russia is advancing and Ukraine is losing” ahead of the Alaska meeting. He stressed that Kyiv would not cede any territory because “for the Russians, Donbass is a springboard for a new offensive in the future.”
At the same time, the US and Russia are reportedly discussing the possibility of stopping the war along the current front line, leaving Russia in control of the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. Trump has allowed for “some changes” regarding the front lines, which has caused concern in Kyiv and its European allies.
“Putin has a much stronger hand than his opponents,” says Marina Miron of King’s College London.
Bloomberg analysts estimate that Russian troops have captured about 2,400 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the year, and five key factors – from human resources to firepower – indicate that Moscow’s advantage is growing.
“The five key factors we assess as critical to determining the outcome of a Russia-Ukraine war — financial strength, human resources, firepower, morale and territorial control — suggest that Russia’s advantage continues to grow,” said Alex Kokcharov, an analyst at Bloomberg Geoeconomics. “Moscow likely believes it has a significant advantage over Ukraine and that time is on its side.”
Alaska Summit
Let us recall that on Friday in Alaska the first personal meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the war in Ukraine will take place.
The main topic of the talks will be the war in Ukraine. For Putin, the summit will be a diplomatic victory , as he has secured a face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, without commitments to a ceasefire or dialogue.
In 2018, US President Donald Trump held a joint press conference with Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, but it was so disastrous that his top adviser on Russia, Fiona Hill, considered faking a seizure to stop it all. Analysts fear Putin will outsmart Trump this time too.
(C)UNIAN 2025
I once remember someone else saying Ukraine had no cards. If Ukraine had no cards, putler wouldn’t be begging for an air ceasefire. People seem to think mafia land grabbing a few villages means they are winning this war. As many people way smarter than me have said, logistics win wars.
Putler is the lord of the flies. His sick, evil, sadistic regime, the horde of savages he calls an “army” and all his deluded followers should come out of this horror with nothing.
Except the hatred of all decent people worldwide.
The EU should stay out of any process. Ukraine’s direct neighbors refused to defend Ukraine and stood at the sideline watching a million people die. Ukraine alone decides if they surrender land for peace and solid security guarantees. The whole drivel about principles, territorial integrity etc. is for the ass. Had Europe/NATO priniples they would have created a no-fly zone from day one and sent divisions to strengthen the Ukrainian Army. I hope something will come out of this Alaska meeting. Everybody is tired of this war, incuding myself.