As eyes turn to Alaska, Ukraine’s fragile eastern front highlights urgent need for ceasefirepublished at 18:10 British Summer Time
18:10 BST
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,
Dobropillya has become the scene of a Russian break through on the eastern front line
As all eyes start to turn in the direction of Alaska, something is unfolding on the scarred battlefields of eastern Ukraine.
Close to the town of Dobropillya, Russian units have broken through front lines and pushed deep into Ukrainian territory.
The move threatens key supply routes and the local authorities have ordered civilians to evacuate.
But what does it amount to?
Ukrainian officials say the Russian units involved are being detected and destroyed.
But the move, possibly designed to allow Vladimir Putin to claim to that Ukraine’s defences are collapsing, highlights the fragility of the eastern front line and, for Kyiv’s European allies, the urgent need for a ceasefire.
If Donald Trump manages to persuade Vladimir Putin to halt the fighting – a very big if – then the so-called “coalition of the willing”, headed by Britain and France, wants to be in a position to deploy what UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is calling “stabilisation forces”, to help on land, in the air and at sea.
But the shape, composition and role of such forces remain unclear.