It is an important eastern Ukrainian city in the Russian territories

The city of Pokrovsk plays an important role as a transit point used by Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region. It is home to an important railway station, and is located at the crossroads of several important roads.

Russian forces have been seeking to capture the city for months, but their advance has accelerated this month and is now thought to be 10km (6 miles) away.

Before the war, Pokrovrsk was home to about 69,000 residents, most of whom worked in coal mining, metallurgy and mechanical engineering.

Thousands have left in recent months as the Russians advance, but now families with children have also been ordered out. Residents have only a week or two to leave, Serhiy Dobriak warned last Monday.

Ukraine hoped that by seizing the Kursk region from Russia it would be able to divert Russian forces away from its east, but that did not happen. If there is a Russian attack on Pokrovsk, and Toretsk to the northeast, it is intense.

“Pokrovsk is a very important center, a defense center. If we lose Pokrovsk, the entire front line will collapse,” warned military expert Mykhaylo Zhyrokhov.

Ukraine relies on the city’s rail and road infrastructure to supply and reinforce its troops on the eastern front, as well as to evacuate the wounded.

The loss of Pokrovsk to the Russian forces would mean that these important military operations would become more difficult.

It may also increase the risk to some of the most important cities, such as Chasiv Yar, which sits on a high ground that provides control over a wide area.

“If they cut our stuff, Chasiv Yar will be destroyed,” said analyst Pavlo Narozhny. “It will take time to get out because we will not be able to feed our troops there.”

Pokrovsk has always played the role of an important railway center serving the needs of highly industrialized eastern Ukraine.

In fact, it grew near a station built in the late 19th century.

It became known as the coal mining capital of Ukraine after the capture in 2014 of Donetsk, the largest city of Donbas, representing the “Coal Bowl of Donetsk”.

Pokrovsk is home to Ukraine’s largest coal producer. It is important for the use of steel, which plays a major role in the country’s economy.

Steel was Ukraine’s main export product before Russia’s full-scale invasion two and a half years ago, accounting for 23% of total exports.

Its export value has now shrunk to a quarter of that level as the country’s industry has been devastated by the war.

A Ukrainian soldier based in Pokrovsk told the BBC’s Ukrainecast podcast that the large number of industrial buildings in Pokrovsk and neighboring towns such as Myrnohrad are very useful for Ukraine’s defense.

“They will have a big challenge to find this place because it is an industrial area with important security lines,” said a soldier identified as Ostap.

Asked about the possible consequences of the fall of Pokrovsk, he said: “The complete destruction of these homes and many dead people, and a lot of suffering.”

“After that there will be more cities, so I hope we will stop them on the outskirts of Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”

The capture of Pokrovsk will have symbolic significance, too.

The Kremlin press will use it to solve the scandal of Ukraine’s seizure of land in the border region of Kusk.

It would also be an important step towards the complete annexation of the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, which Russia declared as part of its territory back in September 2022.