Russian forces edge closer to strategic Ukrainian city
Russian troops are now just 3 kilometres from Pokrovsk, reports CNN, citing the DeepState service, which tracks and maps the situation on the front in Ukraine. The Ukrainian army confirms these reports.
- As a result of prolonged clashes, two of our positions were destroyed and one was lost. Actions are currently being taken to restore the position, - said Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for the Ukrainian eastern front, on Ukrainian television.
The fall of Pokrovsk, an important logistical centre of the Ukrainian army, would mean the largest military defeat for Kyiv in months. The city still has an operational mine, which is the only national supplier of coking coal for Ukraine's once massive steel industry.
The chief commander of Ukrainian forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said he visited the marine infantry unit near Pokrovsk and saw the conditions in which the soldiers had to face an "enemy surpassing them mainly in numbers."
"We must make unconventional decisions"
"I listened to information about the existing problems and issued appropriate orders. Ukrainian soldiers display extraordinary resilience and inflict significant losses on the enemy," Syrskyi wrote on Facebook.
"We must make unconventional decisions to increase the resilience of our defence and ensure more effective destruction of the occupiers. Russian occupiers are throwing all available forces into battle, trying to break through the defence of our troops," he added.
For months, Pokrovsk has been an area of the fiercest fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces. In October and November, Russian troops advanced towards this city the fastest since the first months of the war.
