Ukraine regains part of Pokrovsk as 'defense continues,' Syrskyi says
Ukraine has regained part of Pokrovsk after having no troops left in the city earlier in the fall, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said during a Dec. 9 press briefing.
"The defense of Pokrovsk continues," Syrskyi said, noting that Ukrainian forces have reclaimed about 13 square kilometers (5 square miles) of the city's total 29 square kilometers (11 square miles) since mid-November. He added that the number of Ukrainian troops deployed there is expected to increase.
He also confirmed that Ukrainian units withdrew from positions 5 to 7 kilometers (3 to 4 miles) outside Pokrovsk, where Russian forces had begun to press forward. He said the troops could no longer be effectively held in those positions.
According to Syrskyi, Russia is increasing its troop concentration in the Pokrovsk sector, with more than 155,000 personnel now deployed. He said the area accounts for 40 to 50 percent of all KAB glide bombs Russia uses along the front.
He added that the neighboring city of Myrnohrad is not surrounded, though logistics have become more difficult.
Earlier this week, Ukraine's Air Assault Forces said on Dec. 5 that neither Pokrovsk nor Myrnohrad is encircled, countering Russian claims that Pokrovsk had been captured.
Pokrovsk, a key fortress city in Donetsk Oblast, has been one of the most fiercely contested areas of the front line, with Ukrainian forces holding off a major Russian assault for the past year.
