Porkovsk was the last major operating center of the coal mining and steel industry in Ukraine.
The Russians are very close to Pokrovsk, the last major industrial center of the Donetsk region under Ukrainian control.
The invaders are preparing to cut Pokrovsk’s logistics supply chain and begin an operation to capture the city. The capture of Pokrovsk by the Russian army, analysts warn, could deal a severe blow to the Ukrainian economy. It is the last operating major coal and steel center in the country.
Defense problems
Selidovo was taken at the end of October. Ukrainian units left the city to avoid the siege. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces failed to build a reliable defense around the city, and the Russian army continued to advance to the west, trying to bypass Pokrovsk from the south and cut off the city from all routes. of logistics.
The Russian army moved mainly along the Solona River and along the railway line. In a month and a half, the Russians conquered about 11 km and controlled the villages of Vishnevoye, Grigoryevka, Petrovka, Zheltoye, Novopustinka.
Further enemy movement to the west had to be stopped by a heavily fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a wooded hill between the villages of Novotroitskoye and Shevchenko.
Military observer Yuri Butusov said that the fortifications in this area were built very well: the position was chosen correctly, the defense line was prepared, the fortifications themselves were branched and reliably protected from drones and artillery.
However, according to him, due to problems with the combat effectiveness of troops in this sector of the front, the Russian army captured these Ukrainian positions quickly and almost without opposition. Butusov believes that the command’s miscalculations are to blame for this.
Nazar Voloshin, a representative of the operational-strategic group of troops Khortitsa, which is responsible for the area, said that the Ukrainian army is trying to restore the lost positions near Pokrovsk, in particular, near the nearby village of Shevchenko, Vozrozhdenie (formerly Novy). Trud).
“The enemy attacked our fortifications in the direction of Pokrovsk, west of Vozrozhdenie and south of Novotroitsky, and as a result of long-term clashes, two of our positions were destroyed and one was lost,” Voloshin said at the telethon .
If this fortified area is captured, Russian troops will be able to break through to the nearby village of Peschanoe and capture the waste heap of the Taras Shevchenko mine. This dominant height will make it possible to establish control over the main logistics artery of Pokrovsk – the highway to Pavlograd and the Dnieper, located seven kilometers to the north.
Logistics are being cut
Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are already trying to infiltrate Pokrovsk, DeepState reports.
Ukrainian historian and military analyst Mikhail Zhirokhov, citing his sources, said that the Pokrovsk-Pavlograd-Dnepr route was no longer usable for military supply purposes. Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were advised to find other roads.
In addition, according to him, a partial withdrawal of Ukrainian units, mainly artillery, began outside the city.
According to the analyst, if the logistics situation worsens significantly, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will completely leave the city. A repetition of the Bakhmut meat grinder, that is, heavy fighting for every street in a crowded area, should not be expected, he is convinced.
Sergei Filimonov, commander of the Wolves da Vinci battalion, which is part of the 59th motorized infantry brigade and is fighting in the direction of Pokrovsk, also speaks of the intention of the Russian military to cut off the logistics of the Ukrainian army.
“Now I don’t see the need for the enemy to attack Pokrovsk directly. I think he will try to go to the highway between Pokrovsk and Pavlograd and do it through the territory of both the Donetsk region and the Dnepropetrovsk region, “he said in an interview with the 1+1 TV channel in early December.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.