As global attention has shifted to Ukraine’s energy crisis, the fighting on the eastern front has not slowed. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell speaks with Volodymyr Polevyi, head of public affairs for the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces, about the battle for Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast. Polevyi explains that the cities have never been encircled and how “gray zones” complicate Ukrainian logistics. He also details Russia’s heavy losses in the sector, the role of drones and winter conditions, and how new Ukrainian defensive lines behind Pokrovsk could prevent a wider Russian breakthrough toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
