Russia has been stepping up attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, and specifically the “Fortress Belt” cities of Kostyantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
According to CNBC, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said this week that Russia had “advanced to a position just four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the eastern outskirts of Sloviansk.” Gerasimov also said that Russia has “overcome the first defensive line of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk fortified region.”
T-90 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian T-90 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
ISW’s View
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), earlier this week, wrote in its latest status update that Russian forces are “conducting two main efforts attacking the northern and southern tips” of the Fortress Belt.
However, in its Thursday assessment, ISW disagreed with Gerasimov’s statements, accusing the general of continuing “to make greatly exaggerated claims of Russian advances that do not match battlefield realities in order to construct a narrative of pervasive Russian military success.”
Ukrinform, meanwhile, reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces, using missiles, “struck the main and reserve command posts of the Russian army near temporarily occupied Donetsk,” on August 26 and 27. The report said the extent of the damage from those attacks is yet to be clarified.
Reinforcements Are Coming
Al Jazeera reported Friday that Ukraine has “reinforced the defense of its eastern Donetsk region,” among Russia’s efforts to seize Sloviansk. It’s among the first moves by new Ukrainian commander-in-chief Mykhailo Drapatyi.
Ukraine, the report said, is “pressing a campaign to hobble the supply of Russian men, munitions and fuel to the front line by targeting storages, airfields and transport routes. It has been largely successful in bringing Russia to a standstill.”
Meanwhile, Ukrinform reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky has named Denys Prokopenko and Andrii Biletskyi the new commanders of a pair of new restructured military groupings in the Donetsk region.
“Together with Mykhailo Drapatyi, the General Staff, and Defense Minister Khmara, we determined the sequence of our next steps.
First, our positions in the Donetsk region will be reinforced by two restructured force groupings, to be commanded by Hero of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko and Hero of Ukraine Andrii Biletskyi,” the Ukrainian leader said this week in a visit to the front. The leader visited the 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade.
He also awarded Biletskyi the Golden Star Order.
According to Euromaidan Press, both are past Azov commanders. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, the celebrated leader of Ukraine’s drone corps, praised the appointment.
“This is Smart War. Total synchronization with the Unmanned Systems Forces grouping, the shortest possible ‘sensor-to-shooter’ chain,” the man known as Madyar said.
Euromaidan Press noted that some had urged the move before it happened.
“The eastern flank of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration is taking on an increasingly threatening character,” Oleksandr Kovalenko of Information Resistance said, per the Euromaidan story.
Yurii Butusov, who commands a drone company in the National Guard’s Khartia Corps, told Euromaidan Press that if Ukraine retreats from the towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, it could lead to the loss of the Donbas altogether.
Unfreezing Frozen Assets
Also, according to CNBC, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed a recent push by four European Union member states to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine’s efforts.
“It is only fair and logical to use Russian assets, rather than only European taxpayers’ money, to cover additional costs of defending Ukraine and the rest of Europe from the Russian threat,” Sybiha wrote in a social media post on Friday. “This discussion needs to be rational, not emotional.”
The four countries are Spain, Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands. According to CNBC, 175 billion euros ($204 billion) has matured from Russian assets held in Europe.
The Trump Administration, the report said, has pushed for G7 members to seize billions in Russian assets.
“The European Council is committed to finding ways to help address Ukraine’s pressing needs for 2026-2027, including for its military and defense efforts,” the EU said in a document from last week obtained by CNBC. “It therefore calls on the Commission to present as soon as possible concrete proposals involving the possible use of the cash balances associated with the immobilized Russian assets.”
The document surfaced ahead of last week’s meetings among EU heads of state.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
