Today, Russian General Valery Gerasimov announced that forces advancing on Ukraine’s front line are targeting surrounded troops in the town of Myrnohrad, east of Pokrovsk. He said President Vladimir Putin has ordered the defeat of Ukrainian defenses there, where Russia now holds more than 30 percent of the town’s buildings. Myrnohrad, with a pre-war population of around 46,000, has become a focal point of intense fighting.
Ukrainian officials reject claims that nearby Pokrovsk has fallen, saying their forces still control parts of the city and are mounting a counteroffensive in Myrnohrad. Kyiv insists its defensive lines are holding and that Russian gains come at a high cost.
The escalation comes after President Putin warned last week that Russia would seize full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian troops withdraw—a demand Kyiv has firmly rejected.
Amid the fighting, U.S.-brokered peace efforts are underway. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited London on Monday, meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Today, Kyiv is set to present a revised 20-point plan to the White House, trimmed from an earlier 28-point proposal after removing what Ukrainian leaders called anti-Ukrainian provisions.
Zelenskyy has emphasized that Ukraine has neither a legal nor moral basis to cede territory to Russia, a position that stands as the centerpiece of the updated proposal. The White House is pressing Kyiv for a swift agreement, while U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed disappointment at the pace of talks.
Meanwhile, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met President Putin in Moscow last week. Russia has rejected key elements of the U.S. peace proposal, and senior adviser Yuri Ushakov said negotiators failed to bridge their differences—confidence buoyed by Moscow’s recent battlefield advances.
As the conflict intensifies, global markets are closely watching shifts in Europe’s energy supply and regional security. For young global citizens, business leaders and changemakers, these developments in Myrnohrad and Washington underscore the complex link between front-line dynamics and high-stakes diplomacy shaping tomorrow’s world.
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Russia's top general says forces advancing on Ukraine's Myrnohrad
cgtn.com
