KYIV, Ukraine — On Saturday, Russia announced that its military has seized control of the village of Berezivka as part of its ongoing advance in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine. This development comes as Ukrainian defenses are facing considerable strain. Ukrainian officials have yet to issue a statement regarding this claim.
Over the past year, Russia’s significantly larger military has maintained a relentless campaign along the eastern front, steadily undermining the capabilities of Ukrainian forces who are now low on manpower and fatigued, with the conflict nearing its fourth anniversary later this month. While Berezivka is a minor settlement, its capture would mark an important step in Russia’s efforts to consolidate control over the Donetsk region, which has seen high costs for Moscow in terms of personnel and equipment but has yielded strategic gains. Russian operations in the area employ heavy weaponry, including 3,000-pound glide bombs, artillery, missiles, and drones, to first devastate settlements, followed by infantry assaults on the vulnerable Ukrainian defenders.
Russia’s objective is to establish dominance over all of Donetsk and the adjacent Luhansk region, both of which form part of Ukraine’s industrial Donbas territory. The recent setbacks for Ukraine in the east have occurred amid growing uncertainty regarding the continuation of essential military support from the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump, emphasizing a focus on American interests, has suggested he may soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible peace agreement concerning Ukraine.
During the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Europe should not ignore the potential for the U.S. to refuse support on critical issues that could impact European security. He called for the establishment of a unified European army in light of these concerns.
In additional news, radiation levels at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, the site of the catastrophic nuclear disaster, remained stable on Saturday. This came a day after a drone laden with explosives struck the outer protection of the decommissioned facility in the Kyiv region, according to the Ukrainian State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the incident, which resulted in a hole and a brief fire, did not compromise the plant’s inner containment structure.
Moreover, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that 40 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight across several regions in western and southwestern Russia, with no reported casualties. Ukrainian officials indicated that overnight, Moscow launched 70 drones into Ukraine, with the Ukrainian air force claiming to have destroyed 33 drones and that 37 others likely fell victim to electronic interference.
