The defense of Pokrovsk is complicated by foggy weather, the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Ukrainian Airborne Forces reported, „Ukrainska Pravda“.
„Due to the worsening weather conditions, the defense operation in Pokrovsk is complicated. The thick fog that lingered over the city throughout yesterday significantly complicated the work of Ukrainian units, especially air reconnaissance“, the military publication quotes.
Pokrovsk is an important logistics center for the Ukrainian military in the DPR. The city is located 66 km northwest of Donetsk, near the administrative border of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The corps noted that in such weather, Russian forces have an advantage and can more actively enter the city and prepare for a further offensive.
The BBC reported earlier that weather conditions helped Russian troops advance further into Pokrovsk. Business Insider, in turn, explained that the fog makes the Russian troops' advance invisible - they advance on foot, on motorcycles and in civilian vehicles - and that many Ukrainian drones equipped with optical cameras are ineffective in poor visibility.
In late October, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reported to President Vladimir Putin that units of the Ukrainian armed forces were surrounded near Pokrovsk and Mirnograd. Putin announced on November 27 that both cities were surrounded on all sides.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that attempts by Ukrainian troops near Pokrovsk to break out of the encirclement had been thwarted and that they had surrendered. The agency also reported progress in Pokrovsk.
Kiev acknowledges the difficult situation in the area but denies encirclement. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, stated on November 10 that the intensity of fighting in the Pokrovsk region had decreased, and that logistical routes in the area had been restored and reoriented, indicating that “there was no reason for panic“.
On November 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the decision to withdraw units rested entirely with the military command on the ground and that Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers “were not forced to die because of the ruins“. “Our soldiers are the most important thing for us”, he added.