Russia still has to seize Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk before Putin can claim control of Donetsk, but each fortress city demands an urban battle his depleted army may no longer survive. Those objectives come after Bakhmut and Pokrovsk consumed enormous manpower without delivering the operational breakthrough Moscow needed, leaving the Kremlin with fewer troops, weaker logistics and no credible path to rapid victory. Fuel shortages, damaged refineries, depleted vehicles and collapsing supply lines now make every Russian advance harder to reinforce, connect and hold against Ukrainian counterattacks. Ukrainian drones can isolate small assault groups before ammunition, water and replacements arrive, turning limited gains into exposed positions that consume the soldiers and equipment required for the next attack.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Inside the Kremlin, filtered reports allow Putin to keep demanding progress while commanders, intelligence officials and political allies protect themselves by hiding the scale of failure. Across Moscow, airport closures, internet shutdowns and air defenses mounted on residential buildings reveal a regime preparing to defend itself as the Donbas offensive reaches its breaking point. Continued attacks may gain fragments of ground, but the campaign meant to finish Ukraine could instead break Putin’s army and leave the people around him deciding whether their futures are safer without him.