Vladimir Putin will fly confidently to Alaska! Does the Kremlin hold all the cards in the war?

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive for a summit with US President Donald Trump on Friday against the backdrop of Russian military progress in Ukraine and confidence in his position, writes Bloomberg, quoted by Focus.

According to the agency, the Kremlin will seek to use these successes to obtain significant territorial concessions in exchange for a ceasefire.

According to the Deep State platform, Russian troops have broken through Ukrainian defenses in the area of villages on the outskirts of Dobropil in the Donetsk region and are trying to reach the road to Kramatorsk. Although the breakthrough was partial, the situation on the front in Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions remains tense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Moscow was trying to create the impression that “Russia is advancing and Ukraine is losing“ ahead of the Alaska meeting. He stressed that Kiev would not give up any territory, as “for the Russians, Donbass is a springboard for a future new offensive“.

Meanwhile, the US and Russia are reportedly discussing a possible ceasefire along the current front line, leaving Russia in control of the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. Trump has made “some changes” on the front line, which has caused concern in Kiev and its European allies.

"Putin has much stronger cards than his opponents", also notes Marina Miron, an expert at King’s College London.

Bloomberg analysts estimate that Russian forces have seized about 2,400 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the year, and five key factors - from manpower to firepower - show Moscow's growing advantage.

"The five key factors that we assess as critical to determining the outcome of the war between Russia and Ukraine, such as financial power, human resources, firepower, morale and territorial control, show that Russia's advantage continues to grow", also believes Alex Kokcharov, an analyst at Bloomberg Geoeconomics. "Moscow probably believes it has a significant advantage over Ukraine and that time is on its side.“

Alaska summit

As a reminder, on Friday Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska for their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The main topic of the negotiations will be the conflict in Ukraine. For Putin, this summit will be a diplomatic victory, as he achieved a personal meeting without commitments to a ceasefire or dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump held a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but it did not achieve anything substantial. Analysts fear that Putin will outwit Trump again this time.