Russian forces are 1.5 km from the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, after advancing from the south. Some groups of special forces even entered the city’s road and railway center, pro-Russian war bloggers said this Friday (13).
Russia controls a large part of Ukraine and is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of its invasion in 2022, according to open-source maps.
Since Ukraine seized part of the Russian Kursk region in August, the focus of Vladimir Putin’s army advance has been on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where Russia currently controls more than 60% of the territory.
An important part of the strategy is to take Pokrovsk, which would allow Moscow to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern battlefront and boost the attempt to capture the town of Chasiv Yar, which sits on higher ground and could give control over a wider area.
Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born pro-Russian military blogger, said that members of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups, essentially small special forces units that penetrate the front before advancing, are already in Pokrovsk.
Other Russian war bloggers, such as Boris Rozhin, have made similar accounts. Reuters was unable to verify reports from both sides due to reporting restrictions.
The Ukrainian military noted on Wednesday (11) that Russian troops had destroyed or captured several Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk. There was no immediate comment from Kiev on the latest developments.
Possible most dangerous phase of the Ukraine war
The war in Ukraine is entering what some Russian and Western officials say could be its most dangerous phase, as Moscow’s forces advance and Kiev fires U.S.-made ATCMS missiles.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov visited the Eastern Grouping of Russian forces that is fighting south of the strategic town of Kurakhove, about 35 km south of Pokrovsk.
The fall of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub for the Ukrainian military, would be one of Ukraine’s biggest military losses in months.
Restricting the Ukrainian military’s access to the nearby road network would make it more difficult for Kiev’s troops to hold pockets of territory on either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to consolidate and advance the front line.
Understand the war between Russia and Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and entered the territory from three fronts: through the Russian border, through Crimea and through Belarus, a country that is a strong ally of the Kremlin.
Forces loyal to President Vladimir Putin made significant advances in the first few days, but the Ukrainians managed to maintain control of Kiev, even though the city was also attacked. The invasion was criticized internationally and the Kremlin was the target of economic sanctions from the West.
In October 2024, after thousands of deaths, the war in Ukraine entered what analysts describe as its most dangerous moment yet.
Tensions rose when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the use of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile during an attack on Ukrainian soil. The projectile carried conventional warheads, but is capable of carrying nuclear material.
The launch took place after Ukraine launched an offensive inside Russian territory using weapons manufactured by Western powers, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
Western intelligence reports that Russia is using North Korean troops in the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang neither deny nor confirm the report.
President Vladimir Putin, who replaced his defense minister in May, has said that Russian forces are advancing much more effectively — and that Russia will achieve all of its objectives in Ukraine, although he did not elaborate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes Putin’s main goals are to occupy the entire Donbass region, encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and to expel Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region, which they have controlled parts of since August. .
This content was originally published in Russia advances towards the strategic city of Pokrovsk, in eastern Ukraine on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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