Advance of the Ukrainian army, claimed in one of the regions that Putin wants completely busy
Ukrainian tankers repair a T80 tank captured in the battles between the Ukrainian army and the Russian soldiers in the Kostantynivka district, Donetsk, Ukraine, on April 27, 2025. Photo: Jose Colon / AFP / Profimedia
The Ukrainian forces have regained most of the Tovste in the eastern region Donetk, the DNIPRO group of forces of the Kiev Army announced on Thursday, August 21st.
The 5th heavy Mechanized Brigade forced the Russian troops to withdraw from the locality through coordinated operations that involved infantry, drone and artillery units, according to the army. Tovste is a village on the front line, southwest of the city of Donetsk under the Russian occupation, and near the city-strategic Vuhledar, also captured by the Russians, writes The Kyiv Independent.
Previously, on August 17, the Ukrainian army stated that it has driven Russian troops from several other villages in the Donetk region, including Hruzke, Rubizhne, Novovodiane, Petrivka, cheerful and Zolotyi Kolodiaz.
The advance comes after President Volodimir Zelenski told reporters on Thursday that Russia will need another four years to completely occupy Donetk and Luhansk, despite Moscow's statements.
Russia invaded Donbas for the first time-an industrial region that includes Donetk and Luhansk provinces-in 2014, and the conflict turned into a large-scale war in 2022. After four years of intense fights, Russian forces control about 67-69% of the Donetk region, Zelenski said on Thursday.
“I explained to the US president Donald Trump) that discussions about our donbas occupy by the end of the year (2025) are just empty words,” Zelenski said.
The Ukrainian leader added that Moscow insists on the complete withdrawal of Ukraine from Donbas as a prerequisite for peace negotiations, qualifying the requirement as a “victory” for Russian public opinion.
The reports in the media suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the idea of withdrawing the Russian army from the occupied parts of the Sumî and Kharkov regions in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Ukraine from Donetk and Luhansk. Zelenski has rejected such proposals, stressing that Ukraine will not legally recognize any occupation on some of its territories.
