Ukrainian forces face potential retreat from Pokrovsk by year-end

The Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre forecasts that by the end of this year, Ukrainian forces may be compelled to leave Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which is under attack by Russia. City authorities are urging residents to evacuate.

According to Janek Kesselmann, deputy head of Estonian military intelligence, Russian forces have an advantage on the front and may force Ukrainians to withdraw from Pokrovsk. "Russians are conducting an average of 167 attacks a day, with nearly half occurring on the Donbas front," said Kesselmann in an interview with the ERR portal.

Kesselmann noted that Russian forces advanced roughly one mile toward Pokrovsk last week, which is currently a focal point of military operations. The distance between their position and the city's outskirts is now approximately three to four miles.

He added that if the current pace of attacks continues, most likely, Ukrainian forces will be forced to withdraw from Pokrovsk before the end of this year.

The head of the military administration in Pokrovsk, Serhiy Dobryak, reported that the Russian army is currently about four miles from the city, and 80% of Pokrovsk's key infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian attacks. Despite this, there are still 13,000 civilians in the city, including 94 children.

Yesterday saw two separate attacks involving six KAB-500 bombs. The first strike hit the city center at 11:30 AM, injuring four people, while the second occurred at 11:00 PM, using three more bombs. Numerous injuries have been reported, and the damage to civilian infrastructure has left the area without electricity, water, and gas. Dobryak remarked that these actions appear to be part of preparations for the coming winter.

He further reported that more than 10 neighbourhoods in the city are now without electricity. Expressing gratitude to those who have evacuated, he mentioned that a month and a half ago, the city's population stood at 48,000, including nearly 6,000 children.

The Pokrovsk segment is one of the hottest spots on the front. Numerous clashes occur there daily. The RBK-Ukraine portal reports that Russian soldiers advance several hundred metres daily, surrounding Selydove. This locality is a key point leading to Pokrovsk, a military and logistical hub near the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The situation in the region is becoming increasingly dangerous. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian operational-strategic grouping Chortytsia announced that it had withdrawn its forces from Vuhledar in the Donetsk region to protect the lives of soldiers and military equipment and to prepare new positions for further combat operations. Vuhledar was a key target of Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine.