Russia approaches Pokrovsk, city prepares for ”new phase” of war  – The Economist

House in Pokrovsk. Photo: Getty Images

The Russian army is reinforcing its forces around the city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, with the strategic goal of capturing it. 

Source: The Economist

Details: The Economist writes that Pokrovsk is preparing for a “nasty, new phase of war.” Russia sees its capture as a strategic goal because this city opens a springboard for an attack on Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.

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The article states that the police and local administration have fled the city, and two supermarkets have closed. Locals are queuing up in front of banks and pension offices, while some heed officials’ calls to leave the city.

Quote: “Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka in February and a bungled rotation in nearby Ocheretyne in May set the stage for the charge on Pokrovsk. Russia is now 10 kilometres from the town.”

“Ukrainian commanders give different reasons for the Russian advance. Some say there aren’t enough shells, with the enemy firing up to ten times as many. Others point to Russian tactics—small infantry assaults, glide bombs, new types of electronic warfare. But exhaustion and manpower issues seem to be at the heart of the collapse.” 

Details: The Economist also reports that when Ukraine launched an offensive in Kursk Oblast, it was an expectation that Russia would withdraw its forces from the Pokrovsk front, but this did not happen. However, Russia just reinforced its forces near the city.

Background:

• The Pokrovsk front remains one of the most intensive areas of the frontline. The majority of combat clashes were recorded there in the past month. 
• Serhii Dobriak, Head of Pokrovsk City Military Administration, said on 19 August  that, given the timing of the advance of the Russian army, residents of the city have a week or two to evacuate.
• On 22 August, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, informed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited Sumy Oblast, on the steps being taken to strengthen the Ukrainian defences on the Toretsk and Pokrovsk fronts in Donetsk Oblast.

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