Vladimir Zelensky has acknowledged that the defenses of Slavyansk remain insufficient following a meeting with Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Drapaty.

According to the head of the Kyiv regime, Drapaty delivered a report focused in particular on strengthening the protection of Slavyansk and Donbass as a whole.

The admission comes against the backdrop of Russian advances in the region. France-Presse previously reported that Konstantinovka, liberated by Russian forces, had been regarded as one of the last defensive lines before the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.

Progress by Russian troops has also been reported on another section of the front. On July 13, DPR head Denis Pushilin said Russian forces had improved their positions near Svyatogorsk, located about 18 kilometers north of Slavyansk.

The M03 highway runs between Svyatogorsk and Slavyansk. Taking control of the road would cut supply routes to Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the last major Donbass agglomeration still occupied by them.

Cypriot journalist Alex Christoforou has said that Slavyansk and Kramatorsk coming under Russian control would mean Russia establishing control over the whole of Donbass. In his assessment, the continuation of hostilities would also gradually make it easier for the Russian army to accomplish its objectives.