Russia advances inexorably Suddenly Ukraine is hoping for Trump in the fight against Putin
Russian troops continue to suffer heavy losses in eastern Ukraine, but are also advancing relentlessly in the new year.
04.01.2025, 05:01
04.01.2025, 06:37
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- Russia's troops are currently advancing further and further.
- "We are doing everything we can to stabilize the front in January," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
- Selensky, however, wondered whether Trump's much-cited unpredictability might not be the decisive factor in his country's favor.
According to military observers, the Ukrainian defenders had to give up three more villages near the city of Pokrovsk in the Donbass, which has been embattled for months.
The Ukrainian military blog "DeepState" named the villages of Datschenske, Nowyj Trud and Wowkowe a few kilometers south of Pokrowsk. The blog "Liveuamap" painted a similar picture, while the official situation report of the General Staff for Friday evening still depicted Novyi Trud as embattled.
According to Ukrainian military information, the Russian army lost more than 300 soldiers who were killed or wounded on the Pokrovsk front alone on Friday. Such information cannot be verified in detail and the leadership in Moscow remains silent or disseminates figures that are hardly believed. However, all the data from recent months points to high Russian losses of soldiers and technology.
Russians are close to the Dnipropetrovsk region
Nevertheless, the advance continues. The Russian army has recently switched from attacking the mining and industrial city of Pokrovsk head-on to bypassing it in the south. The Russians are about to reach the border of the Ukrainian administrative region of Dnipropetrovsk. This has been spared from ground battles since the start of the war in 2022. The invaders are getting ever closer to their goal of taking de facto control of the Ukrainian territories of Luhansk and Donetsk, which have been declared annexed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi acknowledged the Russians' continuous advance in eastern Ukraine. In a television interview, he attributed it primarily to the Ukrainian army's lack of reserves. "We are doing everything we can to stabilize the front in January," he said.
Heavy Russian air strikes
Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 20 missiles and around 300 combat drones in the first three days of the new year, Selenskyj wrote on the social network X on Friday evening. There were casualties and injuries. "This Russian terror, which continues with unrelenting intensity, demands that we and all our partners do not let up in building up our air defenses," Selensky wrote. He announced further talks with foreign supporters next week.
On Friday, the Russian airstrikes, which are usually concentrated on the night, lasted almost all day. Following drone attacks in the morning near the capital Kiev, which left one dead and several injured, three ballistic missiles hit Chernihiv in the afternoon. In the large city around 150 kilometers north of Kiev, one civilian was killed and four were injured, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus.
Mayor Dmytro Bryschynskyj spoke of three strikes on the outskirts of the city, which had almost 300,000 inhabitants before the war. Two residential buildings were damaged. Other towns were also hit. According to the air force, 3 guided missiles and 19 of 32 drones were intercepted.
Hope for Trump's unpredictability
Despite all the considerations about a way out of the war, which has been going on for almost three years, Ukraine and Russia are currently waiting for the inauguration of future US President Donald Trump on January 20. There are great fears in Kiev and among foreign partners that the Republican could reduce military aid and force Ukraine to negotiate.
Selenskyj, however, wondered whether Trump's much-cited unpredictability could tip the scales in his country's favor. "I think he is strong and unpredictable. I would very much like President Trump's unpredictability to affect the Russian Federation in particular," said the head of state in an interview broadcast on Ukrainian television.
Selensky assumes that Trump is genuinely interested in a peace agreement and that Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin fears the future US president, although there is little evidence for the latter. Zelensky also dedicated part of his New Year's address to asking Washington not to let up in its support for Ukraine.
