Ukraine Withdraws From Eastern Town, Complicating Negotiating Stance

The town of Siversk had served as a stronghold in the portion of eastern Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. Moscow wants Kyiv to surrender the town as part of a peace deal.

Ukraine said on Tuesday that its forces had withdrawn from the eastern town of Siversk, in a move that could complicate Kyiv’s stance in ongoing peace talks with Russia, which have largely stumbled over a question of territory.

Because of its location on high ground, Siversk had served as a stronghold in the portion of eastern Donetsk still under Ukrainian control — territory that Moscow wants Kyiv to surrender as part of a peace deal. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected the demand, but the fall of Siversk will increase pressure on Ukraine’s remaining defenses in the area.

Ukraine’s military command said in a statement that it had ordered troops to pull back “in order to preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of the units.”

The announcement came just a few hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian negotiators had returned from talks in the United States and delivered a detailed report about the outcome of their meetings with U.S. officials. Several “draft documents,” which include security guarantees for Ukraine, have been prepared, he wrote on social media, adding that Kyiv would continue working constructively in the process.

Mr. Zelensky has said the latest peace proposal discussed with the United States looked “quite solid,” while hinting that obstacles remain in the talks.

“There are certain things we are not prepared to accept,” Mr. Zelensky wrote late Monday on social media about the peace proposals. “And there are things — of that I am sure — that the Russians are not prepared to accept, either.”

One of the main obstacles is control over territory in eastern Donetsk. Russia is demanding that Ukraine surrender the roughly one-quarter of the region Kyiv still holds there to end hostilities, a demand Kyiv had rejected.

But relentless Russian attacks in the area have placed Ukraine under increased pressure. Moscow’s troops now appear close to capturing two cities in Donetsk — Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. And Siversk’s fall would facilitate Russian attacks on two other cities — Sloviansk and Kramatorsk — that form Ukraine’s last main defensive belt in the area.

In recent weeks, the Kremlin has shown a willingness to continue the war unabated. Overnight on Tuesday, Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy sector and civilian buildings with more than 650 drones and dozens of missiles, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

At least three people were killed in the attacks, including a 4-year-old child in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s prime minister, said that “energy facilities in western regions of Ukraine were hit the hardest.” And the country’s energy ministry said that least three regions — Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi — were completely without power. Six other regions suffered power outages, and power cuts were introduced across the country, the ministry said in a statement.

The assault, in the midst of negotiations aimed at ending the war, “sends an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities,” Mr. Zelensky said on Tuesday morning.

“Every Russian strike against Ukraine and the intense Russian assaults on the front line prove that Ukraine’s commitment to ending the war far exceeds Russia’s, and this must be addressed by stepping up global pressure on the aggressor,” he said.

As it negotiates a possible peace deal through American mediation, Ukraine has been seeking ironclad security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking again once peace is achieved. On Monday, Mr. Zelensky outlined a package discussed with the United States that would include keeping Ukraine’s army at a peacetime strength of 800,000 troops, with funding from Western partners; membership in the European Union; European military support; and bilateral security guarantees from the United States.

Mr. Zelensky said European military support would come from the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a group of about 30 countries that have committed to strengthening Ukraine’s postwar security by contributing to its defenses in the air, on land and at sea. That could include the deployment of European forces in Ukraine.

Russia has long opposed the presence of any Western troops in Ukraine, portraying it as a red line in peace talks. Moscow has also sought limits on the size of the Ukrainian military. An earlier peace proposal drafted by the United States and Russia suggested capping the size of the Ukrainian Army at 600,000 troops.

Cassandra Vinograd contributed reporting.

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