Moscow, Oct 26 (EFE).— Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent signals to US President Donald Trump that he is gaining the upper hand in the battle for control of Ukraine’s Donbas region, indicating no urgency to declare a ceasefire, the White House’s condition for a new summit between the two leaders.
Dressed in military uniform on Sunday, Putin met with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov at a command post overseeing Russian forces in Ukraine, in a highly symbolic appearance meant to project confidence on the battlefield.
According to Putin’s message, Russian troops are advancing rapidly through the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian forces still hold about one-fifth of the territory.
Russia claims encirclement of 49 Ukrainian battalions
Gerasimov reported that Russian forces have encircled 49 Ukrainian battalions, including marines, mechanized brigades, and National Guard units, across the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
He said assault units from the Western Military Group had seized the left bank of the Oskil River east of Kupiansk, in Kharkiv, encircling 18 Ukrainian battalions there.
The city, which Russia captured early in the war but lost in Kyiv’s 2022 counteroffensive, lies just over 100 kilometers from Kharkiv’s regional capital.
Gerasimov added that forces from the “Center” grouping had surrounded 31 Ukrainian battalions near Pokrovsk, a key industrial and transport hub in Donetsk that Russia has targeted since mid-2024.
He also claimed Russian troops were close to capturing Yampil, just a few kilometers from Lyman, also in Donetsk.
Kupiansk, Pokrovsk, and Lyman are considered strategic for Russia’s bid to seize Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the main Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbas.
Putin orders Ukrainian surrender to limit casualties
Putin urged his generals to prevent Ukrainian forces from breaking the encirclement but stressed the need to minimize losses, claiming the Russian army has “always shown clemency” toward its enemies in accordance with international law.
“To avoid unnecessary casualties, I ask you, as we did in the past, to take all necessary measures to ensure the surrender of Ukrainian soldiers…those who wish to do so,” he said.
He accused Kyiv of firing on its own soldiers who attempt to surrender and reiterated that Moscow’s operations would not be bound by deadlines.
“We will not be guided by any specific date or event,” Putin said. “We will proceed according to military necessity and prioritize the safety of our men.”
Independent sources estimate that Russia has suffered over one million casualties since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022, including more than 200,000 deaths.
Putin also ordered Russian forces to assist civilians allegedly used as “human shields” by Ukrainian troops and to evacuate them to safe areas.
New nuclear show of force
Russia’s General Staff announced the successful test of its Burevestnik nuclear-powered long-range cruise missile, described by Putin as a response to the US missile defense shield.
According to the Kremlin, the missile, which Putin said has an “unlimited range,” flew for nearly 15 hours and covered 14,000 kilometers during an Oct. 21 test.
“It is a unique weapon that no one else in the world possesses,” Putin said, noting that experts had once dismissed the project as “unfeasible.”
Russia began developing the Burevestnik after the United States withdrew in 2001 from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
Earlier this week, Putin oversaw nuclear force drills by land, sea, and air, days after the planned Trump–Putin summit in Budapest was canceled due to Moscow’s refusal to halt its offensive in Ukraine.
“For now, there is no reason to believe that we can soon make progress toward a peaceful settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on state television, blaming the pause in talks on Ukraine and what he called Europe’s “military hysteria.” EFE
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