Russian army failing to outflank Pokrovsk, Ukraine's military says
The Russian army is failing to outflank Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast in an attempt to cut off the town's logistics routes, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, Viktor Trehubov, said on Jan. 24 on national television.
The area near Pokrovsk, a crucial logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, has been the focus of fierce fighting for months as Russia intensifies its offensive in Donetsk Oblast.
Russian forces are trying to bypass Pokrovsk from the north and south, but so far without success, according to the spokesperson.
"So far, these attempts have been more or less effectively repelled. They have begun to attack the town more actively with long-range, different types of missiles and FPV (first-person-view) drones," Trehubov said.
"Unfortunately, they are hitting the town, but their plan to surround it is still very far from realization," he added.
Trehubov stressed that the Pokrovsk sector of the front line is the primary vector of Russia's offensive.
"This is the main point of concentration of their efforts, and it has been for a long time. There is the largest number of clashes there," he said.
Russian troops are continuing to push on the Lyman, Siversk, Kramatorsk, Toretsk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove axes, according to Ukraine's General Staff. Pokrovsk and Kurakhove remain the focal points of the Russian eastern offensive, now in its fifth month.
Ukraine previously blew up the No. 3 mine's shaft in the village of Pishchane near Pokrovsk to prevent Russia from deploying its troops closer to the front-line town, according to The New York Times (NYT)
Earlier this month, Metinvest announced it had suspended operations at the Pokrovsk coking coal mine due to worsening security conditions and power outages.
Kateryna Denisova
