In brief
Russia keeps tightening its grip on Eastern Ukraine, targeting the last Ukrainian‑held fortress cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. Heavy glide‑bomb attacks have prompted urgent evacuations, and civilians are now moving to safer zones. The Ukrainian police and volunteers describe a grim picture of daily drones and angry explosions. Despite mounting artillery pressure, Kyiv stands firm, deploying new task forces to protect the Donbas strip. In the wider context, Russia aims to secure the region and simplify its path to the west, while the world watches closely for the conflict’s next escalation.
In the eastern Donbas, Ukrainian‑held cities Slovyansk and Kramatorsk are under frequent Russian strike fire. The blitz builds on a long‑standing strategy aimed at tightening control over the region and easing a future push westward.
Residents in these cities are being asked by police to evacuate. A Donetsk officer says only the “only way to save life” is to leave the danger zone amid daily glide‑bomb strikes that have reached almost every day.
The Ukrainian fortress belt is lined with heavily fortified towns. With the centre of Donetsk moved to Kramatorsk after 2014, the belt remains Ukraine’s shield against a full Russian conquest of Donbas. However, the belt’s outer towns – Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and near Kostyantynivka – are now the focal point of Russian artillery campaigns.
Glide‑bombs, which glide after launch instead of falling straight, have smashed into residential blocks, injuring civilians. The number of attacks jumped from 40 in June to 109 in July, while casualties rose to 212 wounded by August – with 15 deaths that month alone. A recent salvo on 25 August hit Kramatorsk’s apartment blocks with seven bombs, wounding 24, including a 2‑month‑old baby.
This map shows that while Russia controls all but a few villages in Luhansk and 80% of Donetsk, the three fortress cities still hold out. The new Russian focus on Kramatorsk and Slovyansk therefore promises a straightforward path to the west if the assault succeeds.
Volunteer Viktor Makurin reports that anti‑drone nets cover key streets and that FPV drones are a constant threat. “You hear explosions through the window and feel the ground shake,” he says. The major conflict, it appears, will decide who controls Ukraine’s eastern frontier next.
