Russia ramps up offensives on 2 fronts in Ukraine as both sides seek an advantage before the fall [View all]

Source: AP

By SAMYA KULLAB and YEHOR KONOVALOV
Updated 4:46 AM CDT, July 2, 2025

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An emboldened Russia has ramped up military offensives on two fronts in Ukraine, scattering Kyiv’s precious reserve troops and threatening to expand the fighting to a new Ukrainian region as each side seeks an advantage before the fighting season wanes in the autumn.

Moscow aims to maximize its territorial gains before seriously considering a full ceasefire, analysts and military commanders said. Ukraine wants to slow the Russian advance for as long as possible and extract heavy losses.

Kremlin forces are steadily gaining ground in the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk, the capture of which would hand them a major battlefield victory and bring them closer to acquiring the entire Donetsk region. The fighting there has also brought combat to the border of the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time.

In an effort to prevent Moscow from bolstering those positions in the east, Ukrainian forces are trying to pin down some of Russia’s best and most battle-hardened troops hundreds of kilometers away, in the northeast Sumy region.




Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-offensives-ceasefire-c03921de21027d13117cb668c9a1a959