Critical advances in Ukraine: Donetsk region under siege

The front in the Donetsk region is bursting at the seams. The Russians are constantly advancing in Pokrovsk, where the situation is most difficult. "The entire Donetsk region is on fire," said Ivan Tymochko, head of the Ground Forces Reserve Council.

Russian ground forces have accelerated their advance towards the important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine over the last seven days and are likely no more than 10 kilometres from its borders, the British Ministry of Defence reported on Sunday.

Pokrovsk serves as a key logistical hub for the Donetsk region, and if captured, it will likely lengthen and complicate Ukrainian supply lines. This will probably hinder Ukrainian forces' ability to transport new subunits and quickly move resources to several key strongholds between Chasiv Yar and Vuhledar.

The Russians are spreading disinformation about the fall of Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk, which Tymochko also mentioned in an interview with Channel 24. "The enemy has not yet approached Pokrovsk," he stated firmly.

The head of the Ground Forces Reserve Council also emphasized that Russian territorial gains in Donbas are paid for with "wild battles, insane destructions, and many thousands of casualties."

German journalist Julian Roepcke also commented on the situation in the Donbas region, stating that "the situation is critical and continuously worsening." "Unlike in the past, it is almost impossible to pinpoint the geographic focal point of the Russian offensive. The Pokrovsk direction, but frankly, Russia is also moving along the entire 50 kilometres section south to Vuhledar," the "Bild" journalist writes.

"The Russian offensive is also ongoing in Chasiv Yar," he adds. "The problems are so significant that Russia is advancing the fastest since the summer of 2022, even with its own issues. Ukrainian soldiers I talk to struggle to explain the catastrophe. Some areas are falling so quickly that they suspect an order of retreat. They also believe that the rotations that have already been carried out and planned are dangerous for maintaining the front," the correspondent indicates.