Russia’s top military commander Valery Gerasimov said on Tuesday that Russian forces were advancing along the length of the front in Ukraine and were focusing operations on Ukrainian troops in the embattled town of Myrnohrad. Speaking during a briefing with officers from the Centre Grouping, which operates in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, Gerasimov said President Vladimir Putin had given orders to defeat Ukrainian forces defending the town. Myrnohrad, located east of Pokrovsk, had a pre war population of about forty six thousand people.
Gerasimov claimed that Russian forces now control more than thirty percent of buildings in Myrnohrad. Ukraine has strongly denied Russian statements suggesting Pokrovsk has fallen and says its troops are still resisting in parts of the city while continuing to hold defensive positions in Myrnohrad. Ukrainian officials insist Russia is suffering significant losses compared to what they describe as limited territorial gains.
Putin said last week that Russia intends to take full control of the Donbas region unless Ukrainian forces withdraw, a demand Kyiv has rejected repeatedly. Ukrainian leaders say withdrawal would violate both the constitution and international law, and they argue that conceding territory would undermine the country’s sovereignty.
The military developments come as diplomatic efforts intensify. The United States is attempting to broker a peace framework, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing the Trump administration to revise a previous twenty eight point plan. Kyiv is expected to submit a revised version of the proposal on Tuesday, following Zelenskyy’s meetings in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Zelenskyy said during an online press conference on Monday that Ukraine cannot agree to any plan that involves giving up land. He stressed that Ukrainian law and moral principles prevent the government from ceding territory. He added that the updated peace plan contains twenty points instead of the original twenty eight, saying several items he described as anti Ukrainian were removed.
Tension is rising as Kyiv faces pressure from Washington to move quickly toward a negotiated settlement. President Donald Trump recently expressed frustration, accusing Zelenskyy of not fully reviewing the US proposal and saying he was disappointed with the pace of progress. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week to discuss possible adjustments to the peace framework. However, Russian officials later said that no compromise was reached and that Moscow disagreed with parts of the proposal.
Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said discussions were constructive but did not result in a breakthrough. With fighting intensifying around Myrnohrad and diplomatic talks showing limited progress, the prospect of a near term resolution remains uncertain.
