Just days before Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to discuss the war in Ukraine, at a meeting in Alaska on Friday, August 15, the Russian army has made a significant breakthrough on the front lines, threatening the last two urban areas in the Donetsk region still held by Ukrainian forces. On Monday, the interactive map website deepstatemap.live reported a 17-kilometer advance, which had likely been conducted a day or two earlier by Russian infantry, moving toward the villages of Zolotyi Kolodiaz and Hruzke. Against the backdrop of the Russian offensive, which, since it began in the spring, has been characterized by its slow pace and heavy troop and material losses, the breakthrough is unusual and alarming amid the battles over Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

From a strategic perspective, the advance creates a wedge aimed at splitting the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk region in two. The crucial T0514 supply route connecting Dobropillia to Kramatorsk has reportedly already been reached. This route had also served as a new defensive line for the Ukrainians, which they built up over recent months to block the Russian advance.

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