Russia captured or made claims on 110 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory on Tuesday, August 12. It is the largest advance since the end of May 2024.
In recent months, it has usually taken five or six days to advance at such a pace. But the army has accelerated in recent weeks.
The advances come just days before Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets the US President in Alaska on Friday, where the Ukraine war and possible territorial exchanges will be discussed.
Occurs before the meeting
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said according to CNN on Tuesday that the purpose of the advances is to give the impression before the meeting that Russia is winning and Ukraine is losing.
About 70 percent of Russia's advances in Ukraine this year have been in the Donetsk region – a part of the eastern so-called Donbass region that Putin claims. After Tuesday's advances, Moscow claims control over 79 percent of Donetsk.
According to Ukraine, Russia is preparing for an offensive in three directions:
The main directions are Zaporizhzhia, Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka, Zelenskyj said on Tuesday.
Families with children evacuated
On Wednesday, Russia's military says it has captured two more villages near Dobropillia, near the disputed Pokrovsk in Donetsk. Russia has tried to capture the mining town of Pokrovsk for more than 18 months.
Ukraine is evacuating families with children from the town of Bilozerske, and other communities in the area threatened by the Russian advances. According to the Donetsk governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, there are about 1,150 children in areas covered by the evacuation order, however the text says Donetskguvernören Vadym Filasjkin.
