Russian forces have intensified their assaults near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, deploying small groups in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops, Victor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, said on Jan. 27 on national television.
"For the first time, they started to fight smart; for the first time, they started to fight not just with direct human waves, but with attempts to cover, with attempts to bypass a large city and force Ukrainian forces to leave it," Trehubov said.
The area near Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, has been at the center of heavy fighting for months.
"The situation is as follows: there is a large number of small-scale clashes near Pokrovsk because Russians are trying to enter and surround Pokrovsk from the west in small groups. There are many, many clashes there," Trehubov said.
Pokrovsk and Kurakhove remain focal points of Russia's eastern offensive, now in its fifth month. Ukraine's General Staff reported that Russian troops are continuing to push on multiple axes, including Lyman, Siversk, Kramatorsk, Toretsk, and Kurakhove.
Trehubov said the Russian command is avoiding urban battles to reduce heavy personnel losses. Despite these efforts, Moscow has so far failed to outflank Pokrovsk and sever its logistics routes.
Kateryna Hodunova
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