Russia encircles Pokrovsk and Vuhledar in Donetsk to counter Ukrainian offensive on Kursk

This is precisely what the Russian army is doing, continuing to press on the Kupiansk-Vuhledar axis looking for the breaking point of the Ukrainian resistance. In the last few hours, reports have been made Advances in the vicinity of Pokrovsk, Vuhledar and Toretskcities which, together with New York and Chasiv Yar, now mark the local defence line. These are three very important enclaves for the viability of the protection of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk core, which has been the declared objective since the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front.

Russia has decided not to take the Kursk bait and minimize troop relocationUkraine understood, probably sensibly, that it was worth crossing the border and that this would force Russia to neglect Donetsk.

Russia, however, has bet on the opposite: sooner or later, if the advances in Donetsk continue, President Zelensky and General Syrskyi will be forced to abandon Kursk and send those troops to protect their own territory. It seems that one of the two will achieve resounding success while the other will almost fail. It is impossible to know right now which side the coin will fall on.

Repeated evictions in Pokrovsk

Because the truth is that we have seen all this before: Russia has been trying unsuccessfully to approach Vuhledar for two years. and leaving behind thousands of lives and impressive amounts of weapons. This time, it seems that the offensive will focus on the population of Vodiane, trying for the umpteenth time to encircle the troops defending Vuhledar.

What would success mean after so many attempts? On the one hand, it would allow the eastern front to be linked to the southern front and to advance together in a northerly direction towards Bohoyavienka or to launch an easterly route along the T0509 towards the Pavlivka-Velyka Novosilka axis, the city that Ukraine chose to start its summer offensive in 2023. All this, on paper, of course. Reality is showing us that Each kilometer of Russian advance can take days or even weeks. to be completed.

A little further north, we find the town of Pokrovsk, where the situation is also starting to get very complicated. Russian troops have already reached Hrodivka, just a few kilometres from the objective, although they do not yet control the town.

Pokrovsk is one of the most important communication hubs on the Ukrainian front, as there are five different roads with different access points: from Kramatorsk itself in the north to Velyka Novosilka in the south.

Seizing this communications hub would be extremely important for Russia, and there are already reports of evacuations in the city… but beware, evacuations are not always a sign of imminent defeat. In Kupiansk – and across the front in general – people have been evacuated at intervals for two years and it is still standing there with the Ukrainian flag flying. The next few hours promise to be decisive in this regard.

The point of no return

Further north of Pokrovsk, we find Toretsk and Chasiv Yar. Both towns have been under siege by Russia for months, but they have not yet fully yielded. Both are, in any case, key due to their proximity to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. If both were to fall, Ukrainian troops would probably have to give up ground as far as the vicinity of their largest population centre and infrastructure in the region.

In any case, one must always bear in mind what was mentioned above: Russia has never managed to advance quickly and has always done so at a very high price in terms of human lives.

Moreover, since the beginning of the war, we have heard of towns whose capture was supposed to disrupt the Ukrainian defensive front (Severodonetsk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka…) and they have not done so. After two and a half years of comings and goings, we must be cautious in all senses.

What does seem clear is that, at this point, The two armies are playing with the enemy’s morale.: Ukraine with its constant attacks on refineries and communication routes and, of course, with the seizure of Russian territory… and Russia, as Russia knows, that is, in a brutal way, without understanding between civilian and military objectives.

Hundreds of missiles and drones flew over the Ukrainian sky on Monday, once again exposing the Zelensky regime’s anti-aircraft battery problems. kyiv has been calling for months Patriots to everyone, but with little success.

The result is what we saw yesterday: dead and wounded all over the country, from Dnipro to Lviv… and severe energy damage affecting the population. Exactly what the West does not allow Ukraine to do with its weapons. A humanitarianally sensible limitation but militarily very damaging.