The Pokrovsk direction remains one of the most difficult areas of the frontline in Ukraine in recent months, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, said today, quoted by Ukrinform and BTA.
Syrsky pointed out that in December, Russian forces suffered an average of 400 casualties (killed and wounded) per day.
“The Pokrovsk direction remains one of the most difficult in terms of countering the Russian occupiers in recent months. We are carefully calculating and preparing for all possible scenarios of the enemy's next steps,“ Syrsky added.
Russian forces are just 1.5 kilometers from the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, after Russian units advanced from the south towards the key road and rail junction. This was reported by the well-known pro-Russian military blogger Yuri Podoljaka, quoted by Reuters.
Podoljaka, who was born in Ukraine, said that Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups, as well as special forces, are already in the city.
Reuters cannot independently confirm reports from either side of the battlefield due to coverage restrictions.
In recent days, the Ukrainian military contingent said that Russian troops had destroyed or captured several strategic Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk.
The fall of Pokrovsk, a key logistics center for the Ukrainian army, would represent one of the largest military losses for Ukraine in recent months, Reuters notes.
Control of Pokrovsk, which Russian media call the “gateway to Donetsk“, would allow Moscow to seriously disrupt Ukrainian logistical lines on the eastern front and intensify the campaign to capture Chasov Yar.
Restricting Ukrainian military access to the local road network would complicate Kiev's defense in the territories on both sides of Pokrovsk, which would open the way for Russia to launch a new offensive.
The city also houses a mine that is the only local supplier of coking coal for Ukraine's former steel industry.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the "East" group of forces had seized more than 300 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine in the past month and taken control of seven villages. The statement was reported by Reuters, citing Russian news agencies.
The ministry added that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had visited the "East" group of forces.