Ukraine war latest: Russian forces breach Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk Oblast, monitoring group reports
Key developments on Aug. 11:
- Russian forces pierce Ukrainian defense near Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast, monitoring group says
- Trump says Zelensky won't attend Alaska summit with Putin, but Ukraine-Russia talks should follow
- Ukrainian drones strike Russian missile component plant in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, SBU source says
- 1,400 Russian drones battered Ukraine last week, Zelensky says ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Russian forces have made a push toward the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk highway in Donetsk Oblast, seizing positions in nearby settlements to support further offensive operations, the Ukrainian battlefield monitoring group DeepState reported on Aug. 11.
The updated map, compiled by DeepState through a mix of open-source data and testimonies from units on the ground, shows the grey zone touching the highway, which was used regularly by civilian and military traffic as recently as mid-July.
Dobropillia lies 94 kilometers northwest of Russian-occupied Donetsk, and about 22 kilometers north of the embattled city of Pokrovsk.
Leveraging their numerical superiority, Russian forces have advanced into Kucheriv Yar, Zolotyi Kolodiaz, and Vesele, where they are reportedly consolidating positions for a renewed offensive and full occupation, according to DeepState.
Russian troops are also attempting to establish a foothold in Petrivka and Novovodiane, on the other side of the highway.
The Russian push, an extension of the Russian offensive between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast that has been underway since spring, gained pace dramatically over August, bringing key Ukrainian logistics routes into the range of Russian first-person view (FPV) drones.
Piercing the Ukrainian defense far west of the main agglomeration of Ukrainian-controlled cities in Donetsk Oblast — Sloviansk, Kramatorsk Druzhkivka, and Kostiantynivka — these latest gains threaten to severely compromise Kyiv's overall defense of the war-torn eastern region.
New fortifications have been built around Zolotyi Kolodiaz, Shakhove, and nearby settlements — positions that Russian forces are currently bypassing but may seize and repurpose for defensive use in future operations, DeepState said.
"After final consolidation and accumulation, attempts to move deeper into the territory will be inevitable, and drone crews will be brought in, which will complicate the restructuring of alternative logistics and the maintenance of surrounding positions by Ukrainian forces," the report read.
"With this development of events, if it does not change, we may encounter a situation where Dobropillia falls faster than Pokrovsk."
Ukrainian officials have not publicly commented on the reported Russian advance.
The press officers of two Ukrainian brigades known to be fighting in the area declined to comment on the situation.
Trump says Zelensky won't attend Alaska summit with Putin, but Ukraine-Russia talks should follow
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed during an Aug. 11 press conference that Volodymyr Zelensky will not take part in his upcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, set for Aug. 15 in Alaska.
"He wasn't part of it," Trump told reporters. "I would say he could go, but he's gone to a lot of meetings; he's been there for three and a half years, and nothing happened."
As Washington seeks a path to end the war in Ukraine, the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin will mark their first face-to-face talks since the start of Trump's second term.
Trump said after his meeting with Putin, a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders should take place.
"Ultimately, I'm going to put the two of them (Putin and Zelensky) in a room, I'll be there or I won't be there, and I think it'll get solved," Trump said.
During the press conference, Trump added that he was "a little bothered" by Zelensky's words regarding "constitutional approval" for land swaps as part of a potential peace agreement.
"He's got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap? There'll be some land swapping going on," Trump said.
"We're going to change the battle lines. Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine," he added.
Trump described the upcoming meeting with Putin as a "feel-out meeting" and added that the Russian president wants "to get involved" and "to get over" the war.
"At the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made," Trump said.
On Aug. 8, Trump announced a summit with Putin and reportedly told Ukraine and European leaders that the Kremlin is open to negotiations if "land swaps" are part of the deal.
Though it remains unclear what such a deal would entail, a source in Ukraine's Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Moscow seeks Kyiv's full withdrawal from partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the east while offering to withdraw its forces from the limited areas it holds in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.
Publicly, Putin has demanded a ban on Ukraine's NATO membership and a full Ukrainian withdrawal from partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as a precondition for peace talks.
In turn, Zelensky has rejected ceding territory to Russia and urged a ceasefire as the first step toward peace talks, a position backed by Kyiv's European partners.
Zelensky is also expected to hold talks with European leaders and Trump two days before the summit in Alaska, on Aug. 13.
Ukrainian drones strike Russian missile component plant in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, SBU source says
Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Aug. 11 struck a plant in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast producing components for cruise missiles, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.
"This morning, long-range drones of the SBU's Special Operations Center 'A' hit the production facilities of the Arzamas Instrument-Building Plant located in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast," the source said.
The statement follows reporting about a Ukrainian drone strike in the area, with Governor Gleb Nikitin claiming that "two industrial zones" in the region came under an attack.
According to the SBU source, the targeted facility produces gyroscopic instruments, control systems, onboard computers, and component systems for Russian Kh-32 and Kh-101 missiles, weapons regularly used in attacks against Ukraine.
The plant is under sanctions from the EU, the U.S., Ukraine, and New Zealand.
"According to preliminary information, at least four drones of the SBU's Special Operations Center 'A' struck the target," the source claimed.
"Last night, an attack by the enemy (Ukrainian drones) was carried out on two industrial zones in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Their targets were our industrial enterprises," Nikitin said, claiming that one employee was killed and two were injured in the attack.
"Specialists are currently working on site; the mayor of Arzamas, Alexander Shchelokov, is coordinating the situation, and necessary work is being organized together with the plant management."
Arzamas lies about 759 kilometers (471 miles) from Ukraine's border. Explosions were also reported in the nearby city of Dzerzhinsk.
Russian air defenses shot down 32 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, as well as seven in the morning, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed.
In Tula Oblast, Russian air defenses shot down 12 Ukrainain drones, Governor Dmitry Milyaev reported. A civilian enterprise was hit in the city of Tula, and two people were killed and three were injured, according to the official. Tula lies roughly 370 kilometers (230 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
1,400 Russian drones battered Ukraine last week, Zelensky says ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Russian forces launched over 1,000 aerial bombs and 1,400 strike drones against Ukraine over the past week, Zelensky said on Aug. 11, only a few days before an expected U.S.-Russia summit.
"Another week has ended without any attempt by Russia to agree to the numerous demands of the world and stop the killings, Zelensky wrote on X.
According to the Ukrainian president, Moscow also maintains pressure along the front, with 209 Russian soldiers "eliminated" by Ukraine's 32nd Brigade in the Pokrovsk sector alone.
"We are defending the lives of our people and strengthening our air defenses," Zelensky added. "This is what the situation in the war looks like. And the situation in diplomacy must correspond accordingly."
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed at least seven people and injured close to 50 in the past 24 hours, regional authorities reported in the morning of Aug. 11.
Accusing Moscow of dragging out its war against Ukraine, Zelensky stressed that Russia cannot be rewarded for its aggression.
"Concessions do not persuade a killer. But truly strong protection of life stops the killers," the president added.
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