Speaking to "Ringvaade suvel," Rehi said the small numbers of personnel Russia has so far committed in the Pokrovsk sector will not be able to achieve a lasting success, adding Ukrainian forces will in the next few weeks likely neutralize any gains they do make.

The timing of the incursions, just before a hotly anticipated summit in Alaska between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, is not likely coincidental either.

Supposedly, Russian forces have achieved success in the Pokrovsk direction. Why is this now news that causes concern?

About a week ago, we started getting reports from the frontline in Ukraine that small Russian units — we're talking about two-man squads or four- to six-man squads without heavy equipment — had reached the Donetsk defensive line, in one or two days. These are the first Russian units to have breached this defensive line, but since they are small, mobile units, Ukraine has now deployed against them the First Azov CorpsX, led by the Karelian Denys Prokopenko. Reportedly, they have begun to push these [Russian] units back from there, as well as capturing and eliminating them.

Why is the Pokrovsk direction so important? Why do they want to go in this direction?

Pokrovsk is a similar settlement as Bakhmut was, as Avdiivka was. It is part of Putin's political order to take under control all of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. From the militarily significant aspect, one could state that Pokrovsk is a road intersection and so a good place for logistics, though in reality this is a political order. No matter how big the losses, this city must be taken. Pokrovsk is simply the next city, and without it, the other areas of Donetsk cannot be taken.

If these tiny units with a couple of soldiers are so to speak seeping through there, then what exactly are they doing?

That is a very good question, and it is very hard to grasp. We know that they are something like propaganda units, in that sense. They go there to die, they go there to make Ukraine use up its ammunition, and to find locations where Ukraine's drone units are. They get through, they have with them a flag, they have one or two days' worth of food and drink plus a few magazines. They do not make any major breakthroughs with all that, but Russian drones are always in the air filming these clips of Russian soldiers waving those flags. This is a major propaganda victory for Russia. All the Western military bloggers have been talking about this, as Putin is supposed to meet Trump on Friday in Alaska, so just before that we see such clips that show, 10 kilometers behind Ukraine's front line, a Russian soldier, with a Russian flag. This will be an enormous political and propaganda victory, even if the 1st Azov Corps does push them out.

The Russians are allegedly trying to take as much land as possible ahead of the Putin and Trump meeting. Is it now the case that they somehow will get that land, or is it really all just propaganda, with flag waving?

Starting Tuesday, new information started filtering in on how the First Azov Corps is pushing back and nullifying those Russian units there, and, so far as I can tell, the whole group will be eliminated from there within a week or two. I tend to think that they will not get that land for themselves, but what they have got is exactly the kind of videos which, on a global scale, when tens of millions of people see them, represent a political victory for Russia.

What is morale like among Ukrainian soldiers?

It varies greatly from unit to unit. There are men who are in a mentally tougher place, some men who are in a mentally better place. There are men who believe that Ukraine should demand back 100 percent of its land internationally, and that they have the international right to do so. There are also soldiers and Ukrainian people who would like a ceasefire already and would maybe be prepared to give up some land, in order for there to be peace.

There are many people — opinions differ — but the majority of the army still believes that together with American help the enemy can be pushed out. The way the Friday meeting with Putin turns out will certainly influence very significantly the views of the Ukrainian soldiers. What Trump does is being followed very closely. News is watched on phones from the front, and all of this greatly affects their daily will to fight.

What is the greatest need that Ukraine has today?

I would say that right now the greatest need — this will sound strange — is that Trump could make up his mind and step boldly and firmly onto Ukraine's side. Then we can go on to talk about everything else.

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