Russia attacks strategic town of Pokrovsk aimed at cutting supply lines, Kyiv military says Reuters

KYIV (Reuters) – Russian forces are continuing to attack near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to bypass it from the south and cut supply routes to Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday. .

The capture of the road and the railway station in the eastern part of Donetsk would cause serious problems for the Ukrainian army on the eastern side and allow Russia to strengthen and advance its western border.

“The Pokrovsk operation is still very hot and the Russians attacked 34 times (in the last 24 hours) and tried to destroy our defenses south of Pokrovsk,” Viktor Trehubov, spokesman for Ukraine’s Khortytsia militia, he told Ukrainian state television.

The town, home to a mine that is the sole supplier of Ukraine’s largest steel industry, had a population of about 60,000 before the war. Ukraine estimates that about 11,000 of them are still in the city.

Trehubov said Russian forces were trying to block supply routes by sending small groups of soldiers to areas south of Pokrovsk.

“They (Russians) don’t go directly into the city because it means heavy urban warfare. So they start trying to bypass the city and disrupt supply chains,” Trehubov said.

He said the forces in Kyiv are using drones and precision weapons to try and stop the Russian forces from achieving their goals.