This article was originally published in English
As 2024 draws to a close, Russian troops continue to make steady advances in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, approaching the strategic city of Pokrovsk.
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Russian forces continue to make significant and steady progress in Ukraine's Donetsk region. They are now approaching the town of Pokrovsk and also appear to be advancing towards Kurakhove, further south.
Last week, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the localities of Trudove and Uspenivka, thus completing the occupation of the last segment of the “Uspenivka pocket” south of Kurakhove.
The Khortytsia battle group said that Ukrainian troops had withdrawn from this area after “heavy defensive battles”.
According to the Ukrainian DeepState project, Russia regroups in the newly captured area and attacks in the direction of the Shevchenko-Andriivka sectionthreatening to create a new pocket. Russian forces are now focusing their efforts on the neighboring town of Andriivka.
Russia is intensifying its pushed into eastern Ukraine
Moscow's advances have come at a significant cost.
The latest estimates from the United Kingdom – in line with figures from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces – show more than 768,000 Russian soldiers dead, wounded, missing or taken prisoner since the start of the war in Ukraine.
In early December, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had lost 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of the Russian invasion.
Furthermore, according to the latest UN data, more than 12,340 confirmed civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine since February 2022.
About 42% of Ukrainian civilian casualties last November were caused by Russian attacks using long-range weapons, representing a “significant increase” compared to previous months, says the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In October and November, Russia has stepped up airstrikes against densely populated Ukrainian cities.
According to Ukrainian Air Force figures, Moscow deployed a total of 2,576 drones in November and dropped at least 100 guided bombs almost every day between November 1 and 20.
