Russian forces are trying to cut off land supply routes to the cities of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd in the Donetsk region. This may force Ukrainian troops to leave these settlements without heavy fighting. This is stated in the daily report of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russian forces likely intend to block Ukrainian land lines of communication (LLT) in Pokrovsk and Mirnograd in order to force Ukrainian units to withdraw from those cities in the coming months. Routes T-0405 and T-0406 are two of the three main ground routes to support the Ukrainian group in the Pokrovska-Myrnohrad area, which run from east to west
It is noted that the advance of Russian troops to the east and west of Pokrovsk may complicate Ukrainian logistics and Ukraine's ability to replenish supplies and redeploy troops to protect Pokrovsk and Mirnograd.
Analysts believe that the Russian military command may intend to continue advancing north of the T-0405 and T-0406 routes in order to force Ukrainian forces to eventually retreat north (rather than east or west) for the Russian capture of both settlements and further advance to the west to the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
ISW notes that the blockade of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd increases the likelihood of Ukrainian troops retreating, which will allow the Russians to seize these settlements without heavy urban battles.
Over the past day, 166 combat clashes took place at the front, the enemy carried out 62 airstrikes and carried out 4,500 shellings. The greatest number of attacks were in the Pokrovsky direction - 77 offensive actions.
