In a recent development in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, asserted that Russian troops are advancing on multiple fronts in Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that the heaviest fighting is concentrated around Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Gerasimov claimed that Russian forces are making significant progress in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as in the northeastern city of Kupiansk and the eastern town of Yampil. He emphasized that Ukrainian forces, despite deploying their most elite units, have been unable to halt the Russian advance. However, these claims contrast sharply with statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukrainian military officials. Zelenskiy, in an interview with Sky News, stated that recent Russian offensives have largely failed, with Ukrainian forces successfully repelling attacks near Pokrovsk and Kupiansk. A Ukrainian military spokesperson also reported that a Russian attempt to advance on Kupiansk resulted in numerous Russian soldiers being captured. The conflicting narratives highlight the ongoing intensity and complexity of the conflict, with both sides presenting divergent accounts of the battlefield situation.
