As Zelenskyy seeks support in US, Russia captures town in eastern Ukraine

Even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the case for more support in the United States, Russia continued to make gains on the battlefield.

In recent months, Russia has made a string of crucial battlefield victories. After capturing dozens of villages, Russia has now moved dangerously close to the strategic city of Pokrovsk and has surrounded another important town of Vuhledar.

Amid such gains, Russia on Thursday said that it had captured another town of Ukrainsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, according to AFP. The town lies just 18 miles (30 kilometres) away from Donetsk’s capital.

The claim of Ukrainsk’s capture came a day after Russia claimed to have won the villages of Hostre and Hryhorivka. While Hostre is close to Ukrainsk, Hryhorivka is close to the hilltop town of Chasiv Yar which Russia controls partially.

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The news of continuing Russian advances in the Donbas region, comprising eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, comes at a time when Zelenskyy is in the United States for talks with US President Joe Biden, Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and Republican nominee Donald Trump. His agenda is to shore up support for Ukraine and convince Biden to allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia.

The continuing support of the United States is critical for Zelenskyy’s vision for Ukraine’s war with Russia. While Harris is following Biden’s commitment to Ukraine’s victory, Trump has refused such commitment and has instead repeatedly said he would end the war soon after winning the election. He has been critical of the US aid to Ukraine and has accused Zelenskyy of emptying US coffers.

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As Zelenskyy impressed upon the need for more weapons and permissions for deeper strikes, Biden approved assistance to the tune of $8 billion, which includes the first shipment of Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) gliding bombs along with air defence, unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), and air-to-ground munitions, according to NBC News.