According to the latest reports of The Telegraph , the situation in Donbas is becoming increasingly tense, as Russian troops may occupy Pokrovsk already in mid-September. This information is supported by data on recent military movements and strategic decisions on both sides of the conflict.
"The Russians will be in Pokrovsk in mid-September"
"I have never seen such speed," the commander of the Ukrainian air reconnaissance unit fighting near Pokrovsk told the publication.
"It's very fast. And our problem is the same: we don't have infantry, we don't have enough artillery or shells. We don't have enough drones. The enemy has deployed powerful electronic warfare units, so sometimes we have to launch 10, 12, 15 just to destroy one tank," he added.
In his opinion, the Russians "will be in Pokrovsk until the middle of September." The Ukrainian "Center for Defense Strategies" adheres to the same assessment.
In the past three weeks, the Russians have advanced at least five miles (eight kilometers) toward the city, moving along a rail line that provides cover for their infantry. "Pokrovsk is shutting down like an organism that knows death is near," reported The Telegraph, commenting on the evacuation from the city.
"This desperate situation is probably a direct result of Ukraine's invasion of Kursk in early August. This operation, planned by General Oleksandr Syrskyi and with the approval of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, was designed to withdraw Russian troops from this front. The commander-in-chief admitted this week that the Russians did not take the bait. While they transferred thousands of troops from other parts of the line to Kursk, they doubled them on the Pokrovsky front," the newspaper writes.
It disputes Zelenskyi's statement that before the operation near Kursk, the Russians moved faster near Pokrovsk. Ukrainian officers interviewed by the newspaper deny this.
