Trump-Putin Will Meet, Russian Troops Continue To Advance In Eastern Ukraine

JAKARTA - Russian troops in eastern and northern Ukraine are making further progress with the cities of Pokrovsk in Donetsk and Kupyansk in Kharkiv at risk of being surrounded.

The Russian move comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a plan to the US requiring Ukraine to hand over the east Donbas region, most of which is currently occupied as well as Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, according to US officials.

Russia has been trying to seize Pokrovsk for more than a year. Ukraine's defenses have persisted, but Moscow's progress to the north and southwest of the city has threatened to cut off Ukraine's supply routes.

The Ukrainian military said on Saturday, August 9, there had been 45 Russian attacks on the Pokrovsk area in the past 24 hours.

"I can't say the situation is critical but there is a risk", a Ukrainian officer in the region told CNN.

According to him, Russia has not yet reached the village north of Pokrovsk, which is an important supply route.

Russia has also made further progress towards the border of Donetsk and Dnipropxisk regions, according to the unofficial website DeepState, which monitors the development of the battlefield.

Russia approached Kupyansk from the north. Center for Defense Strategies said on Saturday Russian troops were trying to reach the main highway that supplies Ukrainian troops in the region.

According to the Belfer Center at Harvard University, Russian troops had obtained 226 square miles (585 square km) of Ukraine's territory between July 8 and August 5, up from 190 square miles in the previous month.