Russian forces are pushing back Ukrainian troops along the front line and are set to deliver new victories before the end of the year, President Vladimir Putin has said.
The Russian leader outlined the state of the fighting against Kiev during his annual Q&A session on Friday, adding that he was “certain that before the year’s end we will witness new successes of our armed forces, our fighters.”
Russian forces have fully seized the strategic initiative after ousting Ukrainian troops from Kursk Region in the spring, Putin stated. Kiev launched the incursion last year, claiming it would strengthen its position during eventual peace talks.
After liberating the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in early December, Russia obtained a staging ground for further advances into what Putin called Kiev’s main fortified area in Donbass, encompassing urbanized lands between the cities of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and Konstantinovka. The latter is already being contested by Russian troops, he said.
There is also intensive fighting for Krasny Liman and Dmitrov, as well as Gulyay Pole in Zaporozhye Region, the president added.
In the south, Russian forces have captured the city of Kupyansk and are pressuring the Ukrainian battlegroup that dug in at a large railway juncture nearby. Putin said some 3,500 Ukrainian troops there “have virtually no chances” to survive after being denied a request to retreat.
“The time will come when our guys finish their work destroying the encircled Ukrainian forces on the northern bank of the river and turn to the west. That will happen pretty soon,” Putin said.
Ukrainian attempts to hold on or reverse Russian gains “at any cost” are not successful and have simply depleted Kiev’s strategic reserves, Putin said, adding that the dire situation will hopefully push Kiev to accept a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.