🇷🇺🇺🇦 The situation near Pokrovsk opens a rare window of opportunity for Russia.

If Russian troops push the breakthrough to its logical conclusion, the strike may not go northeast — towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, as expected and prepared for in Kyiv — but westward, towards Pavlohrad. And this is a completely different operational scenario.

In such a scenario, the front breaks in two directions at once: part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is encircled around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, losing supply lines (as happened in Artemivsk, Avdiivka, and many other places). At the same time, a large Russian strike group gains the opportunity to reach Pavlohrad, creating a threat to the strategic rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region. For the Ukrainian command, this is almost checkmate: stretching the defense in both directions without critical losses is already impossible, and Russia’s advance to Pavlohrad would effectively collapse the entire eastern front line.

And the main question here is not even whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces can hold the defense, but whether they have the forces and reserves at all to meet the strike in this direction. And whether they were prepared for this from the start.

Carrying out and delivering such a strike will be difficult for Russia as well, since it will require a completely different level of planning and resource support. However, it is necessary to understand that the conditions for its implementation are currently favorable.

🔗 https://t.me/Warhronika/9447

🇷🇺🇺🇦 New Russian advances in the past hours:

🔶 Russian troops captured much of the villages of Udachnoe and Kotlyne to the west of Pokrovsk, after ~two months of a stalemate in these sectors.

🔶 Russian DRGs and sabotage groups have crossed the Rodinskoe-Dobropolye railway line and moved westward towards the towns of Shevchenko and Novoalexandrovka. Capturing Novoalexandrovka and/or Gryshyne would effectively encircle Pokrovsk and sever the last road that goes out of the city.

🔶 The village of Zolotim Kolodez was fully captured by Russian troops solidifying the Russian breakthrough of the New Donbas Line

🔶 East of the town of Bylitskoe, the village of Dorozhnoe was captured.

🔶 The village of Leontovich and the houses on the Privolna street in Pokrovsk have been captured.

🔶 East of Myrnograd, the town of Novoekonomichne was captured.

📝: The fact that Ukraine war updates have switched from "daily" to "hourly" should reveal the extent of Russian breakthrough of the past few days.

🔗 Map by AMK Mapping

🇷🇺🇺🇦The breakthrough of Russian troops north of Pokrovsk "caused a wave of outrage and confusion in Kiev" on the eve of the Putin-Trump meeting.

This is reported by the Financial Times.

"In the past few days, Russian troops have advanced nearly 15 km along a narrow corridor parallel to the city of Dobropillia — a mining settlement that has become an important logistics hub north of fortified Pokrovsk, which Russian troops have almost encircled. This unexpected breakthrough threatens to cut off a vital road connecting Dobropillia with Kramatorsk... and will allow Russian forces to bypass and flank the line of fortifications and defensive positions built in recent months," the article says.

As noted by Ukrainian military and analysts, the real situation turned out to be significantly worse than expected.

"Russia's tactical breakthrough north of Pokrovsk is not surprising, given the lack of continuous defensive lines, and could develop negatively," said military expert Michael Kofman.

Also, the "breakthrough of Russian troops caused a wave of criticism within Ukrainian military circles and among volunteers."

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️The front in Donbas is collapsing. The next few hours will be decisive for the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Bild

Military analysts report that Russian units have penetrated 18 kilometers into the enemy's defense north of Pokrovsk.

Russian groups may establish drone operations in this area, allowing them to hold their position for a long time.

Earlier, the former commander of the banned "Azov" also spoke about the collapse of the Ukrainian front in Donbas, complaining to Zelensky that "on the Pokrovsk — Konstantinovka line, without exaggeration, it's a complete disaster.

🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺❗️The meeting between Trump and Putin will only matter for the bilateral relations between the US and Russia, but no decisions about Ukraine will be made there without Ukraine, Zelensky said

🇺🇦🇦🇪 Turkish newspaper, Aydinlik, uncovered a scheme where close associates of Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, transfer monthly, 50 million USD to two companies controlled by oligarch, Andrey Gmyrin, based in the United Arab Emirates.

This discovery is related with the raids by Ukrainian cops on the offices of the two anticorruption bodies, NABU and SAPO, which were investigating two former members of the Ukrainian government, former defense minister, Rustem Umerov and former deputy prime-minister, Alexey Chernyov.

The raids happened on the orders of Andrey Yermak, Zelensky's chief advisor and chairman of the presidential office. NABU and SAPO were absorbed into the General Attorney's Office, attorney named directly by Zelensky himself by decree, a move clearly meant to shut down any investigations into the corruption at the top of Ukraine.

The EU cut funds as a result of the move against NABU and SAPO but the risk of this happening didn't deter Yermak or Zelensky from dissolving NABU and SAPO. Why? Because NABU and SAPO were about to uncover a high profile organised crime network which transfers 50 million USD/month from Ukraine's self-defense fund, paid mostly by the United States, the EU, UK, Canada, Norway and other countries, to two companies owned by an oligarch close to the Zelensky regime, Andrey Gmyrin.

Gmyrin is the owner of several properties and flats in France and the United Arab Emirates, spending 14 million USD from 2021 to 2023 through two companies, Gmyrin Family Holding and GFM Investment Group. Gmyrin is the target of a French criminal investigation which alleges that he caused a 23 million EUR hole in the French budget through tax evasion and corruption. The French have confiscated some of his properties.

Research shows that Gmyrin and his relatives declared official income only 8.2 million gryvnia (approximately $220,000) during the period of 1998 to 2022. This figure does not match the purchases of millions of property and yachts in Dubai and France.

Investigators question how stolen funds were quietly transferred abroad and how he left Ukraine, despite an order to detain Gmyrin. Ukrainian medias are insinuating "high-level protection".

By liquidating NABU and SAPO, Zelensky strengthened his position as the de-facto dictator of Ukraine, getting rid of those who threatened the dealings of his cronies, from which he too personally benefits, siphoning Ukraine's wealth to offshore bank accounts, while ordinary Ukrainians are being sent to the frontlines to die for what?

@CIG_telegram

🇺🇦🇷🇺Zelensky refused to withdraw troops from Donbass.

“We will not leave Donbass. If we leave Donbass voluntarily or under pressure, we will start a third war,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president also refused to discuss any possible territorial exchanges with Russia, while indirectly requesting a meeting with Putin and Trump.

“During the call, I said that I am not ready to discuss Ukraine’s territories, as this is exclusively a matter of our Constitution. And honestly, with all due respect, I am not ready to discuss these issues over the phone. These are serious matters that are resolved at the leaders’ level,” Zelensky told journalists.

Given this rhetoric, it is unlikely that any breakthroughs should be expected from the meeting between Putin and Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.

🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺British authorities have urged EU leaders to stop making "useless comments" about the negotiations between Putin and Trump, reports The Telegraph.

It is reported that London is increasingly concerned about public comments on Ukraine's future by figures such as Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Kaja Kallas.

The British fear that making public demands to the US president could have unpleasant consequences and lead to Europe being completely excluded from the negotiations.

🇭🇺🇷🇺🇺🇦Hungarian Prime Minister Orban:

The Ukrainians lost the war. Russia won. The only question is when and under what circumstances the West, which supports the Ukrainians, will admit that this has happened.

🇷🇺🇺🇦🇺🇸❗️ The Russian Ministry of Defense states that according to information received from several channels, the Kyiv regime and Zelensky are preparing a provocation to disrupt the Russian-American summit.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have brought foreign journalists to the Kharkiv region to make "reports." The planned scenario is as follows — on Friday, Kyiv will strike with a UAV one of the densely populated residential areas or a hospital with a large number of civilian casualties. This will be immediately "documented" by the imported journalists, and the blame will be placed on Russia.

🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦Trump and JD Vance will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Zelensky and European allies ahead of Trump's summit with Putin on Friday in Alaska — ABC News

🇩🇪🇺🇦Bild writes that Zelensky is rushing to Berlin today.

🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺Ukraine fears that Trump will "sell it out" at the Russia-US summit in Alaska, reports Politico.

According to the newspaper, Trump aims to present himself as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, so he will try to pressure the Kyiv leadership to end the conflict.

🇷🇺🇺🇦🇺🇸Russian Foreign Ministry on the possibility of discussing a "territory exchange" with Ukraine at the Russia-US summit:

The territorial structure of Russia is enshrined in the country's constitution.