"Kramatorsk is one of four cities, along with Sloviansk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka, forming a fortress belt running from north to south, in whose defence Ukraine has heavily invested. Putin has demanded the surrender of the fortress belt as a condition for a ceasefire."
"Zelenskyy told reporters on Monday that he had seen leaked documents of Russian war plans, and they included seizing the unoccupied parts of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk in an offensive beginning this month. Also in Putin's war aims is the seizure of the southern port city of Odesa and swathes of Zaporizhia and Dnipro, which would place Russian troops deeper into central Ukraine."
"In February 2026, for the first time since the Kursk offensive operation, the Ukrainian Defence Forces regained control over a larger territory than the enemy was able to seize, he wrote on the Telegram messaging service."
The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues into its fifth year with intensifying military operations. Ukraine has regained some territory in 2024, marking the first territorial gains since 2023, while Russian forces have escalated offensives in eastern Ukraine. Russia launched artillery attacks on Kramatorsk and surrounding communities in Donetsk for the first time, targeting a strategic fortress belt of four cities that Ukraine has heavily fortified. Putin's war objectives include seizing the fortress belt, southern port city Odesa, and territories in Zaporizhia and Dnipro to advance deeper into central Ukraine. However, Ukrainian military leadership reports that Ukrainian forces regained more territory in February 2024 than Russia captured, suggesting the conflict's trajectory remains contested despite Russia's aggressive posture.
#russia-ukraine-conflict #territorial-control #military-offensive #ceasefire-negotiations #eastern-ukraine
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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