Ukraine claims battlefield success in Donetsk Oblast
The Armed Forces of Ukraine has made gains in eastern Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff reported on Aug. 17.
The escalation in Donetsk Oblast follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Aug. 15 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska, which ended without a deal amid Putin's reported demand that Ukraine cede the entire oblast.
From Aug. 4 to 16, Ukrainian forces cleared Russian troops from several villages in Donetsk Oblast. The settlements retaken were Hruzke, Rubizhne, Novovodiane, Petrivka, Vesele, and Zolotyi Kolodiaz.
The General Staff said Russian forces suffered significant losses in the area, including 910 killed, 335 wounded, and 37 captured. Ukrainian troops also reported destroying or damaging eight Russian tanks, six armored fighting vehicles, more than 100 vehicles and motorcycles, one multiple launch rocket system, 18 artillery pieces, and 91 drones.
Stabilization operations continue around Dobropillia, a town in Donetsk, where fighting has intensified in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials said six Russian soldiers surrendered to Ukrainian units on Aug. 16.
Ukraine's 7th Air Assault Corps also reported clearing Russian positions in Pokrovsk, another key city in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukraine also said its forces advanced up to one kilometer near Yablunivka in Sumy Oblast, along the northern border with Russia.
Ukraine's military confirmed earlier on Aug. 16 that Russian troops captured two villages in Donetsk Oblast — Popiv Yar, southwest of Dobropillia, and Ivano-Darivka, northeast of Sloviansk.
Russian units have intensified attacks near the settlements of Novyi Shakhove, Rodynske, Myroliubivka, Novoekonomichne, Novoukrainka and Zvirove, as well as pushing west of Vuhledar, according to Ukraine's Dnipro Group of Forces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is trying to reach the administrative border of Donetsk Oblast to strengthen its position in potential future talks.
Zelensky said on Aug. 16 that the situation in Donetsk Oblast remains "extremely difficult," noting that Ukrainian troops had carried out successful counterattacks around Dobropillia and Pokrovsk for a second consecutive day.
The fighting around Dobropillia has become one of the fiercest in recent months. Ukraine's General Staff said on Aug. 12 that Moscow had deployed more than 110,000 troops near Pokrovsk.
Monitoring group DeepState reported that Russian forces had advanced north toward the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk highway, though Ukrainian counterattacks have since recaptured some of that ground.
