section_path: Events/Russian offensives and Ukrainian incursion (April 2024 – present)/Late 2024 and early 2025 Russian advances
section_name: Late 2024 and early 2025 Russian advances
paragraph_text: Late 2024 and early 2025 Russian advances
  
  Russian troops continued advancing in eastern Ukraine, notably at a faster pace than prior to the Kursk offensive, including towards the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, where their number of forces had instead been increased.
  
  In late August 2024, Russian forces seized the city of Novohrodivka, southeast of Pokrovsk, bringing them within 8 kilometres of the city, while capturing Krasnohorivka and Ukrainsk, near Pokrovsk and west of Donetsk city, in early September. In late September, a Russian assault on the long-held city of Vuhledar began, leading to its fall on 1 October. Following the Russian capture, the city with a pre-war population of about 14,000 was described as a "sprawling ruin".
  
  On 30 October, Ukrainian Major General Dmytro Marchenko was reported to have said "our front has crumbled" due to a dwindling ammunition supply, problems with military recruitment, and poor leadership. He said Zelensky's victory plan was too heavily focused on seeking more Western support. Briefings from Western officials had also become more pessimistic about Ukraine's military situation. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, more than 100,000 criminal cases for desertion were initiated by the end of November 2024. Russian forces then captured the city of Kurakhove in late December 2024, and the nearby Kurakhove Power Station in January 2025.
  
  In early 2025, Russian forces advanced in eastern Ukraine, capturing Velyka Novosilka and most of Toretsk by late January. Russia continued attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In February 2025, Ukraine's government approved a one-year contract for volunteers aged 18–24 who are currently not subject to mobilization.