Over 1,300 residents remain in embattled Pokrovsk, governor says

Some 1,380 civilians remain in Pokrovsk as Russian forces continue their assault on the front-line city in Donetsk Oblast, Governor Oleh Filashkin reported on July 23 on national television.

Pokrovsk remains one of the most heavily contested battlegrounds of Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine. According to the open-source battlefield monitoring group DeepState and soldiers on the ground, Russian troops entered the town on July 22.

Filashkin said the situation in the region is growing more difficult by the day, as Russian forces intensify their offensive.

He also confirmed that a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group had infiltrated Pokrovsk, adding that Ukrainian forces are "doing everything possible to locate and fully neutralize" it.

Filashkin noted that 1,380 residents remain in Pokrovsk and 2,700 in the surrounding community.

"That is a significant number of people," he said. "It is nearly impossible to deliver humanitarian aid or drinking water under current conditions."

Filashkin added that almost all shops in Pokrovsk have closed because the Russian army is shelling the access roads to the town and controlling the territory with FPV (first-person-view) drones.

"It is only thanks to the support of the military that humanitarian aid can be brought to the people. The volunteer movement is also no longer coming to Pokrovsk," he said.

The governor noted that 487 people, including 20 children, were evacuated from cities close to the front line the day before.

Russia has been escalating assaults in the Pokrovsk sector in recent weeks as it attempts to break through to the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported in June that Russia had amassed 111,000 troops near the city.

Ukraine has been largely on the defensive in the east, with Russia steadily pushing forward as its summer offensive grinds on.

Ukrainian and Western military experts believe Russia will have the opportunity to scale up its offensive operations during the 50 days U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow to come to a ceasefire settlement. Russia could realistically advance closer to both Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in eastern Donetsk Oblast in the coming weeks.