Ukrainian forces defending the eastern region of Donetsk are heading into the “moment of maximum tension” as Russian forces rush to take territory across Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next year, war monitors have claimed.
Mr Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US election, which came off the back of his promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, has brought into sharp relief the difficult situation on the frontline for Kyiv.
Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Moscow has also mobilised thousands of North Korean soldiers to push back the Ukrainian incursion into the border region of Kursk, with some success.
And in the Kharkiv region, Russian forces are also staging an attack on the city of Kupiansk, which is key to that area’s wider defence.
Exactly how Mr Trump’s promise to end the war in 24 hours plays out remains to be seen but several unofficial proposals have included plans to freeze the frontline.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has since said that a frozen conflict would be “even worse” than deals struck in 2014 and 2015 to put a pause to fighting during Russia’s first invasion a decade ago.
Whether or not either Ukraine or Vladimir Putin will accept those concessions is also unclear – many say it is unlikely – but the incentive for Russia to seize as much territory as possible is self-evident.
The past few months have seen Moscow seize territory at their fastest rate since March 2022.
Below, we look at the two hotspots of fighting.
Russia’s months-long attack in the direction of Pokrovsk has led to Moscow capturing more than 300 square miles of territory since seizing the city of Avdiivka in February.
It has come at great cost, with western intelligence officials estimating Russia has suffered its highest monthly military personnel losses in the past few months since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Sir Tony Radakin, the UK chief of the defence staff, put the figure at around 1,500 casualties a day.
Nevertheless, a wide bulge can now be seen protruding from the Russian frontline into Ukrainian-held territory of the Donetsk region, towards Pokrovsk.
In what is a rapid last push to capture the region, Russian forces recently advanced in the direction of Pokrovsk. The Institute for the Study of War cited geolocated footage published on 7 and 8 November and said that Russian forces recently advanced east of Ukrainka (southwest of Pokrovsk) and southeast of Dachenske (southeast of Pokrovsk).
