Ukraine’s fighters fear Russian attacks and Trump’s ceasefire – The Economist – 26.04.25
- Michael Julien
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
On the front line they want peace but not at any price.
“The darkest moment of this war is now,” says a Ukrainian intelligence officer. Along roads in the east tank transporters lumber towards the front line while ambulances speed away from it. In the past few weeks the Russians have ramped up drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, their soldiers are mounting a renewed offensive aimed at creating a breakthrough in the east and Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, is coming under intense American pressure to sign up to a peace plan that looks much more favourable to Russia than to Ukraine.
On April 25th Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks that Mr Trump later described as having reached agreement on “most of the major points”. The president called for a meeting between Ukraine and Russia “at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’” But there is no indication that Ukraine is ready to approve the American proposals.
The monumental road sign that welcomes people to Donetsk province, roughly two-thirds of which is occupied by Russia, has become a shrine to the region’s war dead, festooned with military flags and protected by an anti-drone net. Cigarettes have been left as offerings for fallen comrades. But it is a sign of the times that the road beyond has been closed in the last few weeks, and a back-road diversion opened, because the route skirting the besieged city of Pokrovsk has now become too dangerous.
The leaked American ceasefire proposal would end sanctions on Russia, freeze the front line and see America formally recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The intelligence officer, based in Kyiv, does not hide his disdain. “No one who has any shred of dignity would sign this,” he says. Ukraine’s political and military leadership are solidly behind Mr Zelensky, he says.
Mr Trump wants a success to proclaim for his 100th day in office, on April 29th, and Vladimir Putin has ramped up his military offensive because he wants a victory to crown Russia’s celebrations on May 9th, the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, he believes. But both men “will break their teeth” on Ukrainian resistance, he says.
On the front, though, the language is far less gung-ho. Soldiers are focused on killing Russians and staying alive rather than on high politics. They report that in the past month there has been a major upsurge in fighting, especially in the area south of the town of Kostiantynivka. Ukrainian forces have driven the Russians back at some points, but more territory has been lost than regained.
Russia has been able to increase attacks thanks to the redeployment of troops from its Kursk region, where it has recently driven out Ukrainian forces. But only a few of them in turn have been freed up to fight in the east. They are now locked down defending the Sumy region, over the border from Kursk, which the Russians are also now attacking.
A command bunker of the 91st Anti-Tank Battalion lies in a former nuclear shelter underneath a bombed-out factory in a town we have been asked not to name. Large military tents have been erected here to serve as dormitories, and the nerve centre of the operation is a set of rooms with banks of screens and laptops. “Motherfuckers,” exclaims “Sheriff”, the commanding officer, as, via a surveillance drone, he sees two Russian soldiers scurrying along a road hauling a mortar tube in the village of Kalynove, which they captured on April 11th. Sheriff says that in his sector the Russians have stepped up pressure with the 21st century equivalent of cavalry charges. In one of them 100 Russians on 50 motorcycles charged Ukrainian positions. Trying to stop them is like being in a shooting gallery, he says.
According to the intelligence officer this matches what Ukrainian troops have noticed elsewhere, as pressure in the east increases. Russian forces are concentrating huge numbers of men to capture specific targets. Although up to 80% of those troops “are doomed”, the sheer numbers thrown into the assault mean that some will get through. As Ukraine does not have enough soldiers to counter them it is slowly losing ground. Sheriff says he wants a ceasefire to come into effect, not to preserve territory but “to save lives”.
“Craft”, the deputy commander of a National Guard battalion, says his men near Ocheretyne now find themselves fighting an area overlooked by high ground taken by the Russians in a pocket south of Kostiantynivka, and he believes that they may soon have to regroup. That would not be a retreat, he says, but a way to position his men to kill more Russians. But Russians would celebrate such a pullback as a victory, as it would mean that Kostiantynivka was in danger of falling. If it did, the road would be opened to advances towards more important towns in Donbas.
Toretsk, one of the towns in the pocket, has all but fallen. Ivan, a soldier deployed to the front there but relaxing for a few hours in the nearby town of Druzhkivka, says that in his sector the main thrust of the Russian attack had come in the form of glide bombs and drones. But these are not the Ukrainians’ only problem. For a fortnight he and his colleagues have been trying to help five colleagues living under the rubble of a ruined house. They are marooned 2.5km beyond the newly pulled-back Ukrainian front line, and are only 70 metres from the nearest Russian position, which Ivan and his men are bombing.
They have been using drones to drop food, water and batteries to the trapped men, but can’t find a way to rescue them in territory where other drones can kill anyone seen moving. There was no ceasefire here on Easter Sunday, when Mr Putin declared one, and the risk of summary execution made surrendering too risky. The men are disoriented and wounded and asking how they can be rescued. “Psychologically it is very hard.” Ivan says. “No one understands what is happening here.” ■
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Photograph: AP
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