Russia strengthens its offensive on both fronts in Ukraine, both sides seeking advantage in autumn

Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – A courageous Russia intensified its military offensive on both fronts in Ukraine, spreading valuable reserves in Kiev and threatening to expand the battle to the new Ukrainian region as both sides seek advantage before the battle season.

Analysts and military commanders said Moscow’s goal is to maximize its territorial gains before seriously considering the entire ceasefire. Ukraine hopes to slow Russia's progress and extract huge losses for as long as possible.

The Kremlin troops grew steadily in the Pokrovsk Strategic Oriental Logistics Center, and the captives would bring them a major battlefield victory and bring them closer to the acquisition of the entire Donetsk region. The battle there also brought the battle to the borders of the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk area.

To prevent Moscow from strengthening these positions in the east, Ukrainian troops are trying to pin the best and most combative troops in Russia hundreds of kilometers away from the northeast Sumi area.

Russia – The best case scenario for Ukraine is that they can stagnate or stop Russia’s advance in the industrial center of Ukraine, including the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukraine can then “use it as the basis for a ceasefire agreement”.

Radchenko added: “Russia “sees the level of their offense” in the fall,” said: “It is possible that Russia has reached some way with Ukraine. ”

Despite the fierce battle, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is waiting to see if the Trump administration will support stricter sanctions on Russia and support the idea of ​​Europe to build a “reliance force” to stop Moscow. The U.S. decided to stop some weapons out of concerns about the U.S.'s own exhausted inventory.

Ukraine faces ruthless attack from Sumi

In the Sumi area, Ukrainian forces face continuous attacks by a small group of Russian infantry airlift bombs, drones and ruthless attacks. They endured the attack to prevent Russian troops from being transferred to other battlefields in the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukrainian troops in April strengthened their own attacks in Sumy and even launched a small offensive against Russia's neighboring Kursk region to prevent as many as 60,000 fighting Russian troops from being transferred to strengthened positions in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and Kherson regions, senior mainland commander of the Ukrainian region, Ukrainian supreme commander Syrskyi. Oleskyi, once said.

If these troops are moved, they may increase the speed of Russian attacks on the frontline and extend Ukrainian troops.

The strategy is not without criticism. The commander who was ordered to execute complained that this resulted in unnecessary loss of life.

Russian troops penetrated 7 kilometers north of Sumi from different directions on the border.

Ukrainian troops were determined to leave them there to avoid freeing Russian troops to fight in the East. So far, they have achieved success, locking up to 10,000 Russian troops in the Kursk region alone, with Ukraine maintaining a small influence after being forced by Russian and North Korean troops earlier this year.

Russia seeks Donetsk's biggest gains

The biggest battle of the war was in Donetsk, with Russia facing its established goal to occupy all Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Russian troops were unable to directly deal with Pokrovsk's strategic logistical hub and therefore tried to surround the city, a maneuver that required encroachment on the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Bringing war into the sixth Ukrainian region would be harmful to Ukraine’s morale, giving Russia more negotiation leverage if its troops manage to gain a foothold there.

The destruction groups have crossed the border until they are eliminated by Ukrainian forces.

But as time goes by, the commander fears that Russia will be promoted as Ukraine continues to struggle with the severe shortage.

The lack of soldiers and supplies on the 1,200km (745m) frontline means Ukrainian troops must focus on maintaining their position and preserving resources rather than moving forward, said Oleksii Makhrinskyi, deputy commander of the Da Vinci Wolves.

The commander described the battle so fiercely under the drone-saturated skies that the spinning in and out of the troops had become a deadly action. Ukrainian troops rely on supplies carried by drones to last for weeks or longer in combat positions.

The Russians’ goal is “just enter the dnipropetrovsk region, and if the president negotiates peace it is politically beneficial,” said Andrii Nazerenko, commander of the Ukrainian Eastern UAV Force, referring to potential negotiations between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“They are really close to getting what they want,” he said.

Everyone is watching Trump's next move

Zelenskyy hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump will get rid of the government's ambivalence about Ukraine and says he intends to continue U.S. support, a move that could also change Moscow's calculations. The two presidents met last week on the NATO summit's sidelines and discussed possible weapons packages, including the Patriot missile system that Ukraine intends to purchase with European support.

When the Department of Defense disclosed the Pentagon’s review of U.S. weapons stockpiles on Tuesday, it did not specify which weapons to block.

Zelenskyy also hopes Trump will punish Russia with tougher sanctions on his energy and banking sectors, a Kremlin war effort.

Europe and the United States have imposed continuous sanctions on Russia since the full invasion in 2022, but Zelenskyy said the measures were not enough to make the war machine of Pierce Moscow. He proposed a cap on Russian oil prices of $30 per barrel.

EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan said Europe needs to maintain sanctions pressure while also “keep the prospect that if Russia is doing it right, we may have some kind of ceasefire and some kind of sense of negotiation, but at the moment Russia doesn't seem to want that.”

Kiev's closest European allies are also waiting for signs of Trump's support for a plan to deploy foreign forces in Ukraine to prevent future Russian aggression after the ceasefire agreement. This may be the best security guarantee Ukraine can hope to replace NATO membership.

At the same time, on the battlefield, the Russian army seemed to be becoming more and more confident.

Nazerenko has noted changes in morale driving Russian infantry in recent months. Instead of running away when they were attacked by Ukrainian drones, they continued to move forward.

Nazelinko couldn't help asking a Russian prisoner, “You know you're going to die. Why go?”

Because, the Russian soldiers replied: “We will win.”

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Associated Press reporter Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed to the report.