REUTERSRussian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine near the mining town of Dobropillia in a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Ukraine to cede land as the US and Russian presidents prepare to meet. Ukrainian military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said only small groups were penetrating defensive lines, and this did not amount to a breakthrough. He said, without citing evidence, that Ukraine had redeployed elite forces to try to thwart the advance. Russia's Interfax news agency and Ukrainian war bloggers reported the same. To do that, though, Russian forces would first need to take control of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka - four places Russian military analysts call "fortress cities".
