Moscow has claimed that its forces have captured Yasenove, roughly 12 miles south of the city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, amid speculation that U.S.–Russia talks may be imminent.
Speaking to TASS on Feb. 7, Igor Kimakovsky, a leading official of the Moscow-recognized Donetsk People’s Republic, described Toretsk as an “important logistical hub and one of the largest fortified strongholds in Donbas remaining under Kyiv’s control.”
Donbas comprises Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russia invaded and effectively annexed in 2022, along with two regions of southeastern Ukraine.
Officials in Kyiv have yet to confirm the loss of Toretsk (or that of Yasenove), which The Epoch Times could not independently verify.
If the fall of Toretsk has occurred, it brings Moscow one step closer to asserting control over the entire Donbas region—a longstanding Russian objective.
Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces, recently said that fierce fighting was still underway in and around central Toretsk.
“The enemy is conducting active assault operations and pressing on in the sector with all means and forces,” Voloshyn said on Feb. 8, a day after Russia claimed to have captured the town.
“The defense forces of Ukraine are resisting the overwhelmingly superior numbers of the Russian aggressor, inflicting devastating losses in personnel and equipment.”
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the overall troop strength of Russia’s military to be increased by 180,000 to 1.5 million active soldiers.
By contrast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said in an interview that his country’s armed forces could field about 980,000 troops.
In April 2024, in an effort to overcome the troop disparity, the Ukrainian Parliament approved legislation reducing the draft age from 27 to 25.
This week, Ukraine’s defense ministry launched a campaign aimed at recruiting 18- to 24-year-olds—who are technically under conscription age—for military service.
The campaign promises fresh recruits the equivalent of about $24,000, along with bonuses and subsidized housing, in return for one-year stints in the army.
In a social media post, the campaign also promised recruits “professional military training to NATO standards and social benefits that you won’t find in civilian jobs.”
Rumors of Talks
President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House last month, has repeatedly pledged to end the conflict, which will soon enter its third year.On Feb. 9, Trump said he was making progress in talks aimed at ending the war while also hinting that he had communicated with his Russian counterpart.
“If we are talking, I don’t want to tell you about the conversations,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I do believe we’re making progress.
“We’re talking to both sides.”
In a Feb. 10 interview with Fox News, Trump raised eyebrows by saying that Ukraine “may be Russian someday.”
“The fact that a large part of Ukraine wants to become Russia, or has already joined it, is obvious,” he told reporters.
“This is a fact that has materialized on the ground: Russia now has four new regions,” he added, referring to Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, all of which Moscow regards as Russian territory.
“People who ... were queuing to vote in a referendum on joining Russia—this in many ways corresponds to the words of President Trump,” Peskov said.
As it currently stands, Putin’s terms for ending the conflict include the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all territories claimed by Moscow, guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, and an end to Western-led sanctions on Russia.
