After the capture of Avdijivka in February, the Russians have been purposefully pushing ever further west with their sights set on Pokrovsk, a logistical hub for the Ukrainian defenders on the eastern front.
In recent months, town after town has fallen into Russian hands on the roughly four-mile stretch between the towns.
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Ukraine’s military, which already last spring described Pokrovsk as one of the Russians’ main targets in the Donetsk region, is now preparing the city for a siege. The region’s governor describes the situation as “dangerous and very difficult” and according to Ukraine’s chief of defense Oleksandr Syrskyi, the fighting in the immediate area is “exceptionally brutal”.
Only 38,000 people remain in the city where around 60,000 people lived at the start of the invasion in 2022. Residents have been told to evacuate and on Monday banks will close.
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Ukraine’s forces are heavily strained on the eastern front. During the year, the Russians, in addition to taking Avdijivka, carried out intensive attacks against the cities of Tjasiv Yar and Toretsk and opened a new front in the northern Kharkiv region.
Hoping to divert forces from there, Ukraine launched its large-scale attack on Russia’s Kursk region a month ago. Close to 100 Russian towns are said to be currently controlled by the Ukrainians, but despite this the Russians continue to advance towards Pokrovsk.
However, President Zelenskyy claimed during a press conference on Tuesday that the Russian advance has slowed down due to the battles in Kursk, but whether this is true is currently difficult to determine.
Hear Joakim Paasikivi about Pokrovsk’s strategic importance in the clip above.