The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Dec. 3 that Russian forces had “highly likely” made small advances south of Bakhmut in recent days after five months of trying to capture the besieged town in Donetsk Oblast.
The ministry said that Russia likely plans to encircle Bakhmut with “tactical advances to the north and the south,” investing a significant portion of its military effort in capturing the town.
After Russia's battlefield defeats in Ukraine’s northeast and the south, “there is a realistic possibility that Bakhmut’s capture has become primarily a symbolic, political objective for Russia,” it added.
While seizing Bakhmut could allow Russia to launch more attacks on urban areas such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast, it would have “limited operational value," according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
“The campaign has been disproportionately costly relative to these possible gains,” the report reads.
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Monday, August 25
Ukrainian forces downed 76 out of the 104 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones and decoys, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported.
The aircraft, operated by Egyptian carrier AlMasria Universal Airlines, had departed from Sharm El Sheikh and landed in Tallinn at 5:33 a.m. local time. It was able to continue its journey to St. Petersburg nearly six hours later.
The number includes 870 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
In an interview with ABC News on Aug. 24, former CIA Director and retired U.S. Army General David Petraeus cast doubt on both the likelihood of a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Putin's willingness to negotiate in good faith.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News on Aug. 24, U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism about diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine and claimed that Russia has made "significant concessions" during peace talks.
Monday, August 25
Kyiv and Budapest exchanged sharp rhetoric after tensions escalated following a Ukrainian strike on Russian oil infrastructure, which disrupted flows through a critical pipeline supplying Hungary.
"As you mark this important day, know the United States respects your fight, honors your sacrifices, and believes in your future as an independent nation," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a letter of support to Ukraine.
The deal will make it easier to establish Ukrainian defense companies in Canada and provide Kyiv "with modern weapons and military equipment in the long term," Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
The joint operation "took the occupiers by surprise" and cost Russia "about a company of personnel," Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) announced on Independence Day.
"When we come to a stage when you have to sign documents, we would need a very clear understanding by everybody that the person who is signing is legitimate, and ... Mr. Zelensky is not," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Ukrainian troops have liberated the villages of Zelenyi Hai, Mykhailivka, and Volodymyrivka, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on Aug. 24.
Although this time Ukraine has not yet announced the number of people released, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) said among them were eight civilians, including Ukrainian journalists Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush and former mayor of Kherson, Volodymyr Mykolaienko.
Zelensky’s statement follows a recent report by the Wall Street Journal saying that the U.S. has quietly implemented a review process giving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authority to bar Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia with American missiles.
