Russian forces continue to launch attacks near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in a bid to bypass it from the south and cut off supply routes to Ukrainian troops, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday.
Capturing this road and rail junction in the eastern Donetsk region could create serious difficulties for the Ukrainian army on the eastern front and allow Russia to strengthen and advance its front line in the west.
“The Pokrovsk direction remains the hottest and there the Russians attacked 34 times (in the last 24 hours) and tried to break through our defenses south of Pokrovsk,” said Viktor Trehubov, spokesman for the Pokrovsk group. Ukrainian forces Khortytsia, on Ukrainian national television.
The town, home to a mine that is the sole supplier of coking coal to Ukraine’s once-giant steel industry, had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. Ukraine estimates there are about 11,000 left in the city.
According to Trehubov, Russian forces are trying to block supply routes by sending small groups of soldiers to towns south of Pokrovsk.
-“They (the Russians) do not enter the city directly, because that involves intense urban fighting. So they first try to bypass the city and interrupt the logistics chains,” Trehubov said.
He added that kyiv’s forces were using drones and precision weapons to try to prevent Russian troops from reaching their targets.
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