KYIV (Reuters) – Russian forces continue to carry out attacks near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to bypass it from the south and cut off supply routes to Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian army said on Saturday.
The capture of the road and railway junction in the eastern region of Donetsk could cause serious problems for the Ukrainian army on the eastern front and also allow Russia to strengthen and advance its front line to the west.
“The Pokrovsk direction remains the hottest and there the Russians have attacked 34 times (in the last 24 hours) and tried to break our defenses south of Pokrovsk,” Viktor Trehubov, spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces Group Khortytsia, told the Ukrainian National television.
The city, home to a mine that is the sole supplier of coking coal to Ukraine’s once-great steel industry, had a population of about 60,000 before the war. Ukraine estimates that about 11,000 of them remain in the city.
Trehubov said Russian forces were trying to block supply routes by sending small groups of soldiers to settlements south of Pokrovsk.
“They (Russians) do not go directly into the city because this means heavy urban fighting. So they first try to bypass the city and interrupt the logistics chains,” Trehubov said.
He said Kiev’s armed forces are using drones and precision weapons to prevent Russian forces from reaching their targets.
