In the fourth year of Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, the frontlines have shifted yet again, but not always in the ways Moscow might have hoped. As of August 20, 2025, Russian forces are expected to conquer Pokrovsk, a tactically significant city in the Donetsk region that has withstood siege for more than a year and a half. Yet, despite this impending victory, the broader picture on the battlefield is far more complicated—and, for Russia, less triumphant than it might seem at first glance.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank closely tracking developments in Ukraine, reported that Russian soldiers managed to advance only a few hundred yards further into Pokrovsk during the summer of 2025. The city’s capture, while notable, has come at a steep price and after a protracted campaign that underscores the challenges facing Moscow’s military machine. "It took Russia about 18 months to make its way to the city, but Pokrovsk has already outlived its usefulness," George Barros, ISW’s Russia Team head, told The New York Post. "So it isn’t too much of a loss compared to what it took Moscow to get."
Pokrovsk’s fall is emblematic of a war that has become a brutal slog, with victories measured in yards rather than miles. Russia now occupies about 70% of the Donetsk border region, according to ZUMAPRESS.com, but the remaining territory remains fiercely contested. The Ukrainian cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk continue to hold out, forming what Finnish President Alexander Stubb reportedly described to European leaders at the White House as "a bastion against the Huns," according to The Wall Street Journal. These strongholds are part of what analysts have dubbed Kyiv’s "fortress belt," a defensive line that has thwarted repeated Russian assaults.
Recent Russian offensives have struggled to break through this belt. ISW analysis indicates that, in August, Russian troops attempted to push forward in Siversk—just northeast of Kramatorsk—and in Chasiv Yar, about 18 miles southeast. Both efforts failed to produce any meaningful gains. Russian forces deployed artillery brigades and airborne fighters in these areas, but Ukrainian defenses held firm, leaving the frontlines largely unchanged.
Meanwhile, the situation around Dobropillya, a town north of the regional hub, has seen a dramatic reversal. Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets reported that Kyiv’s forces liberated villages surrounding Dobropillya by August 19-20, raising the Ukrainian flag and driving back Russian troops. Even Russian war bloggers, who have become key sources of frontline information, criticized Moscow’s tactics in the area. According to ISW, these bloggers argued that the Russian push was "too narrow relative to its depth and therefore vulnerable to Ukrainian counterattacks."
Similar setbacks have played out elsewhere. Around Toretsk—a city that finally fell to Russian occupation on August 1, 2025, after more than 14 months of fighting—Moscow’s troops have faced renewed resistance and have been forced to retreat from some positions. The patchwork nature of these advances and retreats highlights the unpredictable and punishing character of this war.
As Russian forces inch forward in some places and are repelled in others, the human toll remains immense. Residents have been evacuated from villages near Pokrovsk as Russian troops continue their advance, according to Getty Images. The siege has brought fear and uncertainty to communities that have already endured years of violence and displacement. Yet, amid the chaos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained resolute. As of August 2025, he has vowed not to cede the Donetsk region, insisting that Russia cannot claim land it has failed to fully conquer.
But the war’s brutality is not confined to the frontlines. On August 18, 2025, a dramatic development unfolded when General Esedulla Abachev, deputy commander of Russia’s Northern group of forces, was seriously wounded. According to Reuters, Abachev, who hails from Russia’s Dagestan region, was injured on the front line and was reported to be in serious but stable condition at one of Russia’s top military medical centers. The leader of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, praised Abachev on Telegram as "a combat general and a wise commander who always tries to protect his personnel, sometimes neglecting his own safety."
Ukrainian military intelligence provided further details, stating on August 17, 2025, that Abachev had an arm and a leg amputated after being wounded in a Ukrainian strike on a Russian military column on a highway in the Kursk region of western Russia. He was subsequently treated in Moscow. While Reuters could not independently confirm the specifics of his injuries, the incident underscores the high cost Russia’s officer corps has paid since the invasion began in February 2022. At least a dozen Russian generals have been killed in action over the course of the conflict.
Abachev’s story is notable for more than just his battlefield role. He graduated from the Higher Tank Command School in Kharkiv—now a Ukrainian city—at a time when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. For his role in combat missions during the current war, he received the Gold Star of the Hero of Russia, one of the country’s highest honors. His wounding is a blow not just to Russian military operations, but also to morale among the troops and the regions they represent.
The ongoing fighting in Donetsk and the broader region continues to be shaped by both military strategy and political demands. Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the entire mineral and coal-rich oblast be surrendered, but his forces have repeatedly failed to capture key cities and secure the comprehensive victory he seeks. The drawn-out campaign for Pokrovsk, with its high costs and limited gains, illustrates the difficulties facing Russian forces and the resilience of Ukrainian defenders.
For the people living through the conflict—whether in besieged cities, liberated villages, or as soldiers on the front lines—the war’s outcome remains uncertain. Each new development, from territorial advances to the wounding of senior commanders, shifts the balance ever so slightly but never decisively. As the war enters yet another phase, the world watches to see whether either side can break the deadlock, or if this grinding struggle will continue to define the region for months, if not years, to come.