Ukrainians terrified of Putin's madness. The Kremlin is flooding the front with cannon fodder. “If we have three men, they have thirty”
A few hours before Vladimir Putin received the American envoy for peace talks in the Kremlin, the Russian leader again announced that Russian troops had captured the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. The fighting is still ongoing, but Putin's repeated declarations show his tenacity when it comes to negotiations – Putin argues that the Kremlin's troops are advancing, reports “The New York Times.”
“The Russians actually have an advantage on the battlefield,” says Emil Kastehelmi, a Finnish military analyst with the Black Bird Group. Ukraine, of course, is not on the verge of capitulation, but “it seems weakened enough for Putin to believe he can make demands,” he adds.
As Steve Witkoff headed to the Kremlin for another supposed round of peace talks, Putin ordered the army to prepare for a winter military campaign. After five hours of talks in Moscow, Witkoff met again with the Ukrainian delegation in Florida. Both Washington and Kyiv assessed these talks as “constructive”.
While President Donald Trump's team and Ukrainian officials were discussing possible peace scenarios, Russia launched another massive wave of airstrikes, launching more than 650 drones and 51 missiles. On Saturday, December 6 in the evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the X platform that he “just had a long and substantive telephone conversation” with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, during which “the next steps and format of talks with the United States were agreed.”
Russia pays in blood for every meter
In recent weeks, Russian troops have advanced on several sections of the front. According to daily updated military maps, the Russians are close to capturing Pokrovsk, formerly an important logistics hub. They are also encircling nearby Myrnohrad, advancing towards Sieversk and approaching Kupyansk in the Kharkiv Oblast.
However, each meter of conquered terrain costs them a lot – both in equipment and people. Ukrainian officials and military analysts estimate that at the current pace of operations Putin may still be years away from achieving his goalwhich is to capture the entire Donbas, including the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
For now, Ukraine appears to have enough resources to keep the front line from collapsing. On the other hand, Putin is pressing for Ukraine to meet Russian demands before, as he claims, the situation becomes even worse for it. The Kremlin is convinced that Ukraine is struggling with staff shortages and is unsure whether the West will continue to support it.
Donbas is just the beginning
In an interview with India Today, published on Thursday, December 4, Putin stated that Russia would conquer Donbas “militarily” or “by other means.” And that he does not intend to limit himself only to Donbas – but also aims to conquer “Novorossiya”.
Russia's summer offensive, which was intended to take over Donbas, ended in failure. However, from autumn the situation on the front began to tilt in Moscow's favor. After months of relentless bombardment of Pokrovsk, Russian troops broke through a number of Ukrainian positions, making their way towards the city.
From September everything started to fall apart for us. The front line simply began to crack from exhaustion
— says Ihor, a Ukrainian drone operator operating in the Pokrovsk region.
According to Ihor, peace talks are just a game of appearances – a mere bluff that has no real value as long as the Russians retain the ability to exert strong pressure on the front and can dictate terms thanks to their military advances.
Russia is simultaneously moving forward in other parts of the Donetsk region, striking, among others, in Kostiantynivka and Łyman. Captain Oleh Wojciechowski, whose unit is fighting near Łyman, says that the Russians are attacking “continuously” and “from every side.” Drones and artillery have not been silent for two months. According to the captain, the invaders move in small groups, taking advantage of dense fog, which makes it difficult for Ukrainian drones to operate.
Pokrovsk is drowning in corpses
Although the Russians do not achieve major successes at Kostiantynivka or Lyman, they are putting more and more pressure on Pokrovsk. The city, which was once teeming with life, has now turned into a grim ruin – its streets are full of bodies of civilians and soldiers who cannot be safely moved due to constant shelling and the situation at the front.
This is what Pokrovsk looks like now, November 11, 2025. Russian forces bombard the settlement with aerial bombs and attack with drones almost every day. The front line is right next door.Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto / AFP
For Moscow, Pokrovsk is of strategic importance – it is the gateway to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, two heavily fortified cities in the north-west of the Donetsk Oblast.
Some analysts question the wisdom of Ukraine maintaining the fighting in Pokrovsk at the cost of huge losses. However, Kiev may maintain positions so as not to reinforce the Russian narrative of “inevitable victory” at a time of intensified peace talks. At the same time, resistance in this area increases Russian losses.
As Ukraine committed enormous forces to defend Pokrovsk, the Russians saw an opportunity elsewhere – in the south, in the Zaporizhia Oblast. In recent weeks, they have moved there relatively quickly, occupying approximately 120 square kilometers in the Hulajpola region – that's almost 40 percent. all Russian territorial gains in November.
Ukraine has sent some reserves to the area, slowing down the Russian march, but – as Kastehelmi notes – “the pace there is still alarming.”
Winter could slow down the pace of the offensive — on both sides. However, due to the mass use of drones, the front resembles less and less a line and more and more several dozen kilometers wide “death belt”where every move can cost your life.
Russia is betting on attrition
Russia seems to have an inexhaustible resource of people at its disposal and is willing to incur enormous losses in a war that many compare to a “meat grinder.”
Russia is waging a war of attrition and is trying to break Ukraine militarily
says Kastehelmi.
As the final phase of the fighting for Pokrovsk – which has already lasted 18 months – is approaching, concerns about the fate of nearby Myrnohrad are growing. Oleh, a platoon commander in the area, says Russians attack Ukrainian positions every day and drones turn roads into death traps.
“They don't leave us alone, day or night,” he emphasizes. — If we have three men, they have thirty. But I guess they didn't expect us to fight for so long.
