Russia pushes key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk while Kyiv’s entry into Kursk slows

Russia has made major advances in recent days that threaten to outweigh the gains made by Ukraine in its cross-border offensive in the Kursk region.

The Russian military is a few kilometers away from the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, an important transport hub used by the Ukrainian military.

Home to an important railway station and highways, Pokrovsk is an important supply and reinforcement point for the Ukrainian military on the eastern front line.

Critics in Kyiv fear the country’s military has made a huge mistake.

By sending troops to Kursk instead of strengthening the eastern front, the military left Pokrovsk and other key Ukrainian cities exposed, critics said.

During a visit to the front, army chief Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia was throwing “everything possible” at its offensive.

“The situation is very difficult,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Wednesday.

“If we lose Pokrovsk,” military expert Mykhaylo Zhyrokhov warned, “the entire front line will collapse.”

Pokrovsk is close to another town, Myrnohrad. Together, the two settlements had more than 100,000 people before the war, most of whom have since fled. The last major cities in that part of Donetsk region remain under Ukrainian control.

The battle of Pokrovsk is actually a continuation of the the battle of Avdiivkawhich Ukraine lost in February after months of bloody fighting.

Avdiivka, about 60 kilometers (36 miles) east of Pokrovsk, was seen as a fortress protecting settlements and roads to the west – helping to strengthen Ukraine’s presence along the entire front line.

When it finally fell, Avdiivka was left in ruins. It was a great loss for Ukraine.

It meant Russia could shift its focus to Pokrovsk and the hilltop town of Chasiv Yar, which overlooks other key cities in Donetsk that are still controlled by Ukraine. Fierce fighting there on Saturday left five people dead.

For weeks now, large numbers of Ukrainians have been moved to Pokrovsk, and thousands are said to have left.

Gen Syrskyi said he is working to “strengthen the defense of our troops in the most difficult areas at the front, to provide the brigades with a sufficient amount of ammunition and other material and technical equipment”.

Russia has long held Pokrovsk as one of its key targets. Its forces have been slowly moving towards it for months.

Experts believe that Moscow has deployed about a third of the Central Army Group, or about 30,000 troops, in the offensive zone – as well as in its battle-ready areas.

This week, it took over the Ukrainian city of Novohrodivka, angering some in Ukraine who felt it should have been better protected.

“The canals in front of Novohrodivka were empty. There was almost no Ukrainian army in this city with 20,000 soldiers,” Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla wrote on Facebook.

With its forces ineffective and outnumbered, Ukrainian troops are believed to have withdrawn from Novohrodivka to strengthen their defense of Pokrovsk.

“The Ukrainian command may have viewed the defense of Novohrodivka as not worth the potential losses,” said the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Elsewhere, Russian forces attacked the town of Selidove, just south of Novohrodivka, and other areas of nearby Donetsk region.

The Russian invasion was aided change of tacticswhich increasingly resemble those used earlier in the war by the Wagner mercenary group.

Ukrainian forces are reporting that they will face wave after wave of Russian troops advancing in an attempt to invade their territory.

Some have called these strategies “flesh attack”.

The tactics – although expensive – quickly destroyed the Ukrainian units that were forced to resist the relentless attack.

Armored vehicles are used sparingly – which complicates the work of Ukrainian tanks and artillery, which have fewer targets on the battlefield.

Russia has also been using powerful bombs, forcing Ukraine to disperse its units when the bombardment begins and sometimes withdraw troops from the front.

Meanwhile, progress on Ukraine’s historic cross-border offensive has slowed dramatically over the past week.

Sudzha – the largest enclave Ukraine has captured from Russia – has a population of about 5,000, three times less than Novohrodivka, a settlement captured by Russia earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s top commander said Kyiv forces had captured 1,294 square kilometers (500 sq miles) inside Kursk, including 100 residential areas – and captured 594 Russian soldiers.

These figures should be treated with caution, but they are undoubtedly significant. The question is whether they will justify the possible loss of territory in eastern Ukraine.

“One of the objectives of the offensive in the Kursk area was to divert enemy forces from other areas, especially Pokrovsk and Kurakhove,” General Syrskyi said on Tuesday.

But it seems that that purpose has failed. Russian troops were never again deployed from the Pokrovsk front line.

Instead they were reinforced with more troops and their advance was accelerated.