While the Ukrainian army is making rapid progress in Russia’s Kursk region, the Russian army has made significant gains at the Pokrovsk front in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and the situation is becoming “dire” an individual from a special forces battalion told Kyiv Post.
The city of Pokrovsk, the capital of the district of the same name, is a transport hub, lying on a main road that’s an important supply route to other Ukrainian outposts in the region.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
The individual said they are stationed on the outskirts of the small industrial city of Krasnohorivka, southeast of Pokrovsk city.
The source told Kyiv Post, on condition of anonymity, that Pokrovsk city and other settlements throughout Pokrovsk district – a district in western Donetsk region composing about 1,316 square km (508 square miles) – are under constant enemy airstrikes where cluster bombs are being used.
Ukrainian defenders on the Pokrovsk front have been unable to leave their positions for 90 days due to intense shelling and the use of strike drones, the source said.
“It is very difficult to deliver food, water, and ammunition to the positions due to the risk of artillery fire and loitering munitions. Resupply is done using unmanned aerial systems and ground-based remote-controlled drones,” the source said.
The source said that evacuation of the wounded is carried out by ground drones. And logistics and frontline surveillance are complicated due to the Russians’ massive firepower.
Germany's Baerbock Offers Ukraine no Guarantees as Kyiv Sounds Alarm
A Ukrainian lieutenant with the call-sign “Alex” on his Telegram channel on Tuesday, Aug. 13 also reports that the situation is darkening.
“Everything is very grim on the Pokrovsk front, without exaggeration. Battles are ongoing for Hrodivka [a village east of Pokrovsk city] within the village itself,” he wrote.
As reported on the same day on Telegram by DeepState analysts using satellite footage to update the war map – Russian troops have occupied the villages of Lysychne, Ivanivka, and Svyridonivka.
They’ve advanced toward Hrodivka, Kostyantynivka, Nevelske, Serhiivka, Pishchane, and Novotoretske.
It reported that they were pushed back near Stelmakhivka.
Alex said that people seem indifferent to the Pokrovsk front and other areas when there are victories to celebrate – such as in Russia’s Kursk region – where the Ukrainian military has reportedly captured 28 settlements in the space of a week.
“Victory is good, especially when successes are real, but we need to assess the situation everywhere soberly, or it will be painful later. Meanwhile, the enemy is actively advancing; just rewind the DeepState map a week back,” he added.
On Telegram, Ukrainian soldier Stanislav Bunatov, call-sign “Osman,” showed how Russian forces advanced on the Pokrovsk front from Aug. 6 to 12.
Bunatov said that Russian commanders have been ordered to reach and secure Myrnohrad – a city neighboring Pokrovsk city about 9 km (6 miles) to the east.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
