Ukraine says fighting ‘difficult’ after reports of Russia’s rapid gains

KYIV, (Ukraine): Ukraine said Tuesday it was engaged in “difficult” battles with Russian forces after Moscow had made rapid advances in a narrow but important section of the front line in the country’s east.

The gains came just days before US President Donald Trump was to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks on the war, the first meeting between a sitting US and Russian leader since 2021.

The Ukrainian army said it was engaged in “heavy” battles with Russian forces attempting to penetrate its defences.

“The situation is difficult and dynamic,” it said in a statement.

A map published by Ukrainian battlefield monitor DeepState, which has close ties with Ukraine’s military, showed Russia had advanced around 10 kilometres (six miles) over around two days, deep into a narrow section of the eastern front line.

The corridor — now apparently under Russian control — threatens the town of Dobropillia, a mining hub that civilians are fleeing and that has come under Russian drone attacks. It also further isolates the destroyed town of Kostiantynivka, one of the last large urban areas in the Donetsk region still held by Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based observatory, said Russia was sending small sabotage groups forwards.