Russia announces capture of Myrnograd and Guliaipole in eastern Ukraine, intensifying pressure ahead of Zelensky-Trump talks
MOSCOW: Russia claimed on Saturday to have captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole.
The announcement came a day ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump.
A Kremlin statement said President Vladimir Putin had received a military report on “the liberation of Dimitrov (the Russian name for Myrnograd) and of Guliaipole”.
Myrnograd is located in the Donetsk region near Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub captured by Russia earlier this month.
Guliaipole is in the eastern part of Zaporizhzhia, where Russian advances have accelerated in recent months.
Putin said the offensives were “intensifying the pressure” on the Ukrainian army in televised comments.
“If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” he added.
The claims of fresh territorial gains set the stage for Zelensky’s talks with Trump on a proposed plan to stop the fighting.
