Ukraine Update Day 1,028….Chinese soliders captured by Ukraine troops in combat….

Where these voluteer’s?

Or ?

Detailed to to Russia for the Ukraine front fighting….

This while Putin is against NATO or European Troops in Ukraine AFTER a cease-fire?

Actually?

There may NEVER bE a Cease-Fire at this rate as Putin pushes his forces to contiune fighting….

Trump seems to be quietly removing US assets from helping Ukraine and Europe keeps adding support ….

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is seeking clarification from Beijing after Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.

• Zelenskyy said the captured fighters were two of many more Chinese members of the Russian armed forces, and he accused the Kremlin of trying to involve Beijing in the conflict “directly or indirectly”. A few hundred Chinese nationals are thought to have travelled to fight as mercenaries with the Russian army alongside others from Nepal and central Asian countries.

• US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the development “disturbing”, adding: “China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine.”

• Russian forces staged massive drone attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv late on Tuesday, triggering fires and injuring at least 17 people, regional officials said. In eastern Donetsk, the focal point of the 1,000-km (600-mile) frontline in the more than three-year-old war, a residential area came under attack in the city of Kramatorsk and local officials said residents were injured. In Dnipro, the attack sparked a fire, damaged houses and cars and injured 14 people, Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.

• Russia says it is close to regaining full control of its western Kursk regionafter pushing Ukrainian forces from one of their last footholds there. Russia’s defence ministry released a video of what it said was the recapture of the settlement of Guyevo set to dramatic music, showing smoke rising into the air from various buildings, a soldier waving the Russian flag from the window of a heavily damaged Orthodox church, and Russian troops carrying out house-to-house checks in case any Ukrainian soldiers were hiding. Ukraine officials have not commented on Russia’s claims, but its general staff said in a statement its planes had struck a complex of hangars and military buildings in the region being used by Russian drone operators and maintenance workers.

• The US senate has confirmed the appointment of Elbridge Colby as its top policy adviser at the Pentagon, despite concerns he had downplayed threats from Russia and Vladimir Putin. Colby previously questioned whether Russia actually invaded Ukraine, echoing a false Kremlin talking point. After side-stepping repeated questions on whether he believed Russia did invade the country, he was forced to agree it had.

• US and Russian delegates will hold talks on Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of their embassy operations that have been drastically scaled back following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the US state department confirmed….

More….

ISW…Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 8, 2025

• Ukrainian forces recently captured Chinese nationals fighting in the Russian military in several areas of Donetsk Oblast.
• Russian and US authorities announced a second round of US-Russia bilateral discussions focused on normalizing diplomatic missions but not on discussing the ceasefire agreements offered jointly by the US and Ukraine will be held in Istanbul on April 10.
• Russian forces are currently pursuing three distinct tactical objectives in the Pokrovsk direction, but Ukrainian drone operations and localized counterattacks are continuing to complicate Russian advances in the area.
• Russian advances northeast of Pokrovsk support both the ongoing Russian effort to envelop Pokrovsk from the east and west and the effort to pressure Kostyantynivka from the south by advancing along the T-0504 highway and eliminating the Ukrainian salient southwest of Toretsk.
• The situation immediately south and southwest of Pokrovsk remains extremely dynamic amid intensified Russian offensive operations and localized Ukrainian counterattacks and drone operations in the area.
• Russian forces continue to deplete manpower and materiel in unsuccessful mechanized assaults and ongoing infantry assaults with armored vehicle support further southwest of Pokrovsk.
• Russian forces have only made marginal advances throughout the Pokrovsk direction due to localized Ukrainian counterattacks and improved integration of Ukrainian ground and drone forces.
• Russian forces have spent the last 13 months and lost over five divisions’ worth of tanks and thousands of troops attacking toward Pokrovsk and trying to seize the town. Ongoing Russian offensive operations to seize Pokrovsk and attack Kostyantynivka highlight Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to seize all of Ukraine through military means at whatever cost if he cannot do so through negotiations.
• Russian forces renewed long-range missile and drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on April 7 to 8 following a brief pause on April 6 to 7.
• Russian forces continue to innovate with long-range Shahed strike drone tactics to maximize the impact of strikes against Ukraine.
• European states continue to provide financial and military aid to Ukraine.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced an initiative ostensibly aimed at securing medical treatment and rehabilitation for wounded Russian troops, but the MoD may weaponize this initiative against wounded servicemembers in practice.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk and Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk and Belgorod oblasts and near Lyman, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka.
• The Kremlin is considering passing a bill that may incentivize volunteer recruitment for conscription-age men ages 18 to 30 years old….

Daily Kos grund report for Today….