Ukraine is rapidly strengthening its position in Pokrovsk after a small number of Russian troops managed to penetrate the besieged strategic town, the Ukrainian military said on Monday, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
Amid the failed attempts by former US President Donald Trump to mediate a ceasefire, Russian forces have renewed their efforts to seize the key logistics hub, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine's 7th Airborne Assault Corps said it had strengthened its position in Pokrovsk in recent days as urban fighting continued.
„The occupiers who penetrated the town did not are trying to strengthen themselves, and are striving to advance south“, wrote on “Facebook“ from the Ukrainian 7th Corps. “The enemy's goal is to disperse our forces and block land logistics corridors.“
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that Russia has concentrated its main strike force against Pokrovsk. “Fierce fighting is taking place in the city and on the approaches to it. Logistics is difficult, but we must continue to destroy the occupiers“, Zelensky stressed.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced today that the infantry groups that have penetrated Pokrovsk are trying to reach the city station.
For months, Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk, which occupies a key place in the Ukrainian defense lines. According to the Russian military, capturing the city is crucial to establishing control over the entire Donetsk region.
Zelensky told the American media outlet “Axios“ that Ukrainian intelligence has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a private conversation that Moscow would seize the entire Donbas region, including Donetsk and Luhansk regions, by October 15. Reuters notes that it has not been able to independently confirm this information.
Ukrainian open-source mapping project “Deep State“ last week expanded the gray area southwest of Pokrovsk, now identifying about a fifth of the western and southern areas of the city as contested.
Russia controls approximately 75% of Donetsk region, while about 6,600 square kilometers remain under Ukrainian control.