Putin advances in Donbas and his soldiers will not take long to conquer the key city of Kostiantynivka

Source Summary

Vladimir Putin has been annoyed by the narrative that has emerged in recent weeks that Ukraine is on the verge of turning the tide of the war. "Europeans have the categorically incorrect impression that the situation on the battlefield is changing in favor of Ukrainian forces," they say from the Kremlin. The reason is the partially successful effort by Kyiv's troops to stifle Russian logistics on the southeastern front, which opens a window of opportunity for Volodymyr Zelensky. However, in the east, in Donbas, Russia continues to advance and will soon conquer Kostiantynivka, one of the last major towns in the region. The problem is that it is advancing so slowly that the pressure from the warmongering sectors is growing for the Russian president to decree a new mobilization, a measure that is enormously unpopular and could prove entirely ineffective.