“The end of Zelensky politically”: The former head of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry considers the possibility of the Russian army advancing to Poltava and Dnipro

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba predicted that if Donald Trump halts military aid to Ukraine after his inauguration, the Russian army would reach the Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Poltava.

This forecast was shared in an interview with Politico.

The ex-diplomat expressed concern that Trump might place Ukraine on a “starvation diet” to make it more compliant if his peace attempt goes awry, which Kuleba believes is highly likely.

“The front line in Donbas will collapse, and the Russians will be at the gates of Dnipro, Poltava, and Zaporizhzhia. This will be the most dangerous moment for Ukraine in this war,” Kuleba stated.

He is confident that President Volodymyr Zelensky would not sign a peace agreement in which Russia retains the captured territories and Ukraine abandons its NATO aspirations.

“The Russians keep Donbas, they keep Crimea, and there’s no NATO membership. Can Zelensky sign it? He can’t, due to the Constitution. And because it would be the end of Zelensky politically,” Kuleba explained.

Meanwhile, the American Institute for the Study of War suggested that Russia might attempt to seize part of the Dnipropetrovsk region to capture all of Donetsk. “Russian forces may use limited advancement into Dnipropetrovsk to create conditions for future military occupation operations in Dnipropetrovsk and other eastern and central Ukrainian regions in the long term.”

It should be noted that from the Russian positions in Novodaryvka to the border of Dnipropetrovsk, there are just over 7 km.

As for the current situation on the front, the Russians have made significant progress in several directions in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, as shown on the Deep State resource map.

Near Pokrovsk, there continues to be an attempt to bypass it from the south. The Russians have advanced in Zheltoye and nearby settlements, as well as in several areas towards the Kurakhiv direction. There is progress in Kurakhiv itself, with a gray zone in the city center and Russian control over two buildings surrounded by Ukrainian forces. To the south, there has been progress in the “pocket.”

In the southern part of Donetsk, the Russians have advanced again toward Razliv—towards the road to Kurakhiv from the west. There had been no progress here for about a week.

Slightly to the west, the Russian army has advanced again toward the road to Velyka Novosilka from the direction of Bohatyr.

In the north, in Kharkiv region, the Russians advanced south in Kruglyakovka and expanded their foothold on the left bank of the Oskil River, north of Dvurechne.