Ukrainian leader sees no sign of Russia preparing for ceasefire after reports of frontline breach in Donbas
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more of his countrys territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war.
The Ukrainian president said he did not believe that Donald Trump supported Russias demands, and he expressed hope the US leader would act as an honest mediator when he meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
He added there was no sign that Russia was preparing to implement a ceasefire, as reports emerged that small sabotage groups had pierced Ukrainian defences in the eastern Donbas, advancing about six miles in three days. Zelenskyy also warned that Russia was planning new offensives on three parts of the frontline.
Speaking to journalists in the run-up to the Trump-Putin summit, and a day before a virtual meeting with US and European leaders, Zelenskyy said he believed that Putin wanted to dominate his country because he does not want a sovereign Ukraine.
It was therefore dangerous, Zelenskyy said, for Ukraine to be forced by the US into accepting Russias demand to take over the parts of Donbas it does not control after the Alaska summit. The region sought by Russia amounted to about 90,000 square kilometres of the country, he said.
Last week Russia indicated it was prepared to consider a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for the first time, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from the parts of Donbas it still controlled. Though Trump then suggested that Russia and Ukraine could engage in some swapping of territories, Zelenskyy said he understood that Russia was simply offering not to advance further, not to withdraw from anywhere and that swaps were not on the table.
We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do it, Zelenskyy said. For Russians, Donbas is a springboard for a future new offensive. The region demanded by Russia was too strategically important to give up, he said, because it was a heavily fortified area that protected Ukraines central cities.
I have heard nothing C not a single proposal C that would guarantee that a new war will not start tomorrow and that Putin will not try to occupy at least Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv once Russia had gained all of Donbas, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraines leader said he wanted Putin instead to agree to a ceasefire on the current frontlines and for both sides to return all prisoners of war and missing children, before any discussion about territory and the future security of the country. Any question of territory cannot be separated from security guarantees, he said.
Zelenskyy said he would not be at the summit in Alaska, the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin with both in office since 2018. But he said he hoped it would be followed by a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin, though the Russian leader has so far said he is not willing to meet Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader also expressed faith in the unpredictable Trump, who he said could act as an honest broker between himself and Putin. I do not believe that Putins proposal is Trumps proposal, he said. I believe that Trump represents the United States of America. He is acting as a mediator C he is in the middle, not on Russias side. Let him not be on our side but in the middle.
He said he did not know what exactly Putin and Trump were going to discuss in Alaska, saying probably there is a bilateral track of talks about other topics of mutual interest, such as trade, sanctions and business. But he said Putin had scored a diplomatic win in securing the meeting: He is seeking, excuse me, photographs. He needs a photo of his meeting with President Trump.
Zelenskyy said Russia was desperately trying to show it was winning the war and that the Kremlin wanted to create a certain narrative, especially in the American media, that Russia is moving forward and Ukraine is losing by mounting sabotage attacks in the Donbas region.
He acknowledged that groups of Russians advanced about 10 kilometres in several places although he said: They have no equipment, only weapons in their hands, and said that some had already been killed or captured.
But the breach is ill-timed from Ukraines point of view. In Alaska, Putin is likely to tell Trump that such successes show that Russia is gradually winning the three-year war in the east, and so US future support for Kyiv will be wasted.
War maps showed two lines of advance east of the town of Dobropillya, and gains of about six miles since Friday. Experts said the next few days would be critical to see if Ukraine could contain the break in the front.
Ukraines military said Russia had concentrated about 110,000 troops in the sector and that the invaders were brazenly attempting to infiltrate our defensive lines with sabotage and small infantry groups, regardless of their losses.
The military command said in a social media post that reserves had been deployed at the order of Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraines chief military commander, in an effort to restore the frontlines.
The Institute for the Study of War said Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups had infiltrated Ukrainian-held territory near Dobropillya, a key supply point in the west of the Donetsk region.
It is premature to call the Russian advances in the Dobropillya area an operational-level breakthrough, the ISW said on Monday night. It said the invaders would now try to turn tactical advances into something more significant.
Russia is taking heavy casualties of about 1,000 a day, with 500 killed and 500 wounded on Monday, Zelenskyy said, as it relies heavily on infantry assaults to break Kyivs defensive lines.
Zelenskyy said Ukraines casualties on the same day were much smaller C a total of 340 C 18 killed and 243 wounded, with 79 missing in action. But in the past when Moscows forces have broken through, Ukraine has frequently proved unable to push them back.
A former senior Ukrainian army officer, Bohdan Krotevych, said the piercing of Ukraines lines had come about because instead of reinforcing defensive units with infantry, senior commanders in Kyiv had prioritised deploying newly mobilised soldiers into assault forces, leaving units already on the frontline weakened.
To stabilise the front, we must reinforce brigades on the line of contact with infantry, Krotevych said, and he called for Ukraine to urgently strengthen its reserve forces and adopt a defensive strategy rather than try to counter high-risk Russian infantry assaults with its own.
Dobropillya is a key supply point for the beleaguered towns of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad to the south and the principal cities of Ukrainian-held Donbas to the east from the centre of the country.
Zelenskyy said Russia was preparing a fresh offensive in the autumn involving nearly 30,000 troops moved from Sumy, in the north-east of Ukraine, in three directions on the frontline C towards Zaporizhzhia in the south and Pokrovsk and the nearby Novopavlika in the south-east.
乌克兰领导人表示，在顿巴斯前线被突破的报道传出后，未见俄罗斯准备停火的迹象
弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基表示，乌克兰无法同意俄罗斯提出的以放弃更多领土换取停火的提议，因为莫斯科会将其所获领土作为未来发动战争的跳板。
乌克兰总统表示，他不认为唐纳德·特朗普会支持俄罗斯的要求，并希望这位美国领导人在周五于阿拉斯加会见弗拉基米尔·普京时，能够充当诚实的调解人。
他补充称，尚无迹象表明俄罗斯准备实施停火。与此同时，有报道称，小股破坏小组已突破乌克兰在顿巴斯东部的防线，三天内推进了约六英里。泽连斯基还警告说，俄罗斯正计划在前线的三个地区发动新的攻势。
在特朗普与普京会晤前夕，以及与美欧领导人举行视频会议前一天，泽连斯基向记者表示，他认为普京企图控制乌克兰，因为后者“不愿看到一个主权独立的乌克兰”。
泽连斯基表示，若乌克兰在美国施压下被迫接受俄罗斯的要求，在阿拉斯加峰会后让出尚未控制的顿巴斯地区，将极其危险。他称，俄罗斯索要的领土面积约为该国9万平方公里。
上周俄罗斯首次表示愿意考虑在乌克兰战争中停火，条件是乌克兰撤出其仍控制的顿巴斯部分地区。尽管特朗普随后建议俄乌双方可进行某种“领土交换”，但乌克兰总统泽连斯基表示，他理解俄方“只是提议不再推进战线，而非从任何地区撤军”，且交换领土并不在谈判范围内。
泽连斯基表示："我们不会离开顿巴斯，也绝不能这样做。对俄罗斯而言，顿巴斯是发动未来新攻势的跳板。"他称这片俄方索求的地区战略意义重大，因其作为重兵设防区域，守护着乌克兰中部城市群的安全。
泽连斯基表示："我尚未听到任何——甚至没有一项提议——能够确保明天不会爆发新的战争，也无法保证一旦俄罗斯完全占领顿巴斯地区，普京不会试图至少夺取第聂伯罗、扎波罗热和哈尔科夫。"
乌克兰领导人表示，他希望普京首先同意在当前战线实现停火，双方交换所有战俘和失踪儿童，之后才能讨论领土问题及该国未来的安全保障。他强调：“任何领土问题都不能与安全保障割裂开来。”
泽连斯基表示不会出席在阿拉斯加举行的峰会，这将是特朗普与普京自2018年以来首次以在任领导人身份进行面对面会晤。但他表示希望此次会晤后能促成美俄乌三方会谈，尽管俄方领导人迄今仍拒绝与泽连斯基会面。
乌克兰领导人也对难以预测的特朗普表达了信任，他认为特朗普可以在自己和普京之间充当诚实的调解人。他表示："我不认为普京的提议就是特朗普的提议。我相信特朗普代表的是美利坚合众国。他正在扮演调解人的角色——他保持中立，不站在俄罗斯一边。让他不要站在我们这边，而是保持中立立场。"
他表示并不清楚普京与特朗普在阿拉斯加的具体会谈内容，仅推测双方可能会围绕贸易、制裁及商业等共同关心的议题展开双边磋商。但他指出，普京在促成此次会晤上已取得外交胜利：'恕我直言，他追求的是合影。他需要一张与特朗普总统会面的照片。'
泽连斯基表示，俄罗斯正竭力试图展现其正在赢得战争，克里姆林宫希望通过在顿巴斯地区发动破坏性袭击，『营造一种特定舆论——尤其是在美国媒体中——渲染俄罗斯节节推进而乌克兰节节败退』。
他承认“多股俄军部队在数个地点推进了约10公里”，但同时表示：“他们没有装备，手中只有武器”，并称部分人员已被击毙或俘虏。
但从乌克兰的角度来看，这一防线的失守来得不是时候。在阿拉斯加，普京很可能会向特朗普表示，此类胜利表明俄罗斯正在逐步赢得这场持续三年的东部战争，因此美国未来对基辅的支持将是徒劳的。
作战地图显示，乌军在多布罗皮利亚镇以东开辟了两条推进战线，自周五以来已推进约6英里。专家表示，未来几天将是观察乌军能否遏制前线突破的关键期。
乌克兰军方表示，俄罗斯已在该地区集结约11万兵力，且入侵者正"肆无忌惮地试图通过破坏行动和小股步兵渗透我军防线，完全不顾自身伤亡"。
乌克兰军事指挥部在社交媒体发文称，根据乌军总司令亚历山大·瑟尔斯基将军的命令，已部署预备役部队以恢复前线态势。
战争研究所表示，俄罗斯的“破坏和侦察小组”已渗透至顿涅茨克地区西部重要补给点多布罗皮利亚附近的乌克兰控制区。
美国战争研究所（ISW）周一晚间表示，将俄军在多布罗皮利亚地区的推进称为战役级突破为时尚早。该机构称，入侵者目前正试图将“战术性进展”转化为更具战略意义的成果。
乌克兰总统泽连斯基表示，俄罗斯每日伤亡惨重，周一约有1000人伤亡，其中500人死亡、500人受伤。俄方正依赖步兵突击战术试图突破基辅防线。
泽连斯基表示，乌克兰当天的伤亡人数要少得多，总计340人，其中“18人阵亡，243人受伤，另有79人在行动中失踪”。但过去当莫斯科的军队突破防线时，乌克兰往往无法将其击退。
乌克兰前高级军官博赫丹·克罗特维奇表示，乌军防线被突破的原因是基辅高层指挥官优先将新动员的士兵部署到突击部队，而非用步兵增援防御部队，导致前线原有部队战斗力遭到削弱。
克罗特维奇表示：“为稳定前线，我们必须向接触线上的旅增派步兵。”他呼吁乌克兰紧急加强预备役部队力量，采取防御策略，而非试图以己方步兵对抗俄军的高风险进攻。
多布罗皮利亚是一个关键的补给点，向南为被围困的波克罗夫斯克和米尔诺赫拉德两镇提供支援，向东则连接乌克兰控制的顿巴斯地区主要城市，这些城市位于该国中心地带以东。
泽连斯基表示，俄罗斯正计划在秋季发动新一轮攻势，将从乌克兰东北部苏梅地区调遣的近3万名士兵投入前线，分三个方向推进——向南进攻扎波罗热，向东南进攻波克罗夫斯克及附近的新帕夫利卡。
