Reuters/Thomas PeterThe city of Pokrovsk performs an important function as a logistical hub for Ukrainian forces within the japanese Donbass area. It’s house to an necessary railway station and is on the intersection of a number of necessary roads.
Russian troops have been making an attempt to seize the city for months, however their advance accelerated this month and are actually believed to be lower than 10 kilometers (6 miles) away.
Earlier than the warfare, Pokrovsk had roughly 69,000 residents, lots of whom labored in coal mining, metallurgy and machine constructing.
Hundreds of individuals have left in current months because the Russians advance, however now households with kids are additionally being ordered to evacuate. Serhiy Dobriak warned final Monday that civilians would solely have every week or two to evacuate.
Ukraine had hoped to divert Russian forces to the east by seizing territory in Russia’s Kursk area, however this didn’t occur. If something, Russia’s offensive towards Pokrovsk and Toletsk within the northeast has intensified.
“Pokrovsk is an important hub, a protection heart. If we lose Pokrovsk, your complete entrance line will collapse,” navy professional Mikhailo Zhirokhov warned.
Ukraine depends in town’s rail and highway infrastructure to produce and reinforce its troops on its japanese entrance and to evacuate the wounded.
If Pokrovsk falls to Russian forces, these necessary navy duties will turn out to be extra difficult.
It could additionally improve the danger to different strategically necessary cities, akin to Chasif Yar, which is positioned on a commanding top and will management a wider space.
“In the event that they reduce our logistics, then Chasiv Yar will probably be doomed,” mentioned analyst Pavlo Narozhny. “It is solely a matter of time earlier than now we have to evacuate as a result of we can’t have the ability to resupply the fighters there.”
Pokrovsk has at all times performed an necessary function as a railway heart, serving the wants of Ukraine’s extra industrialized japanese area.
In actual fact, it developed round a station constructed on the finish of the nineteenth century.
After occupying Donetsk, the primary metropolis of Donbass in 2014, Donetsk grew to become often called the coal mining capital of Ukraine.
Pokrovsk is house to Ukraine’s largest producer of coking coal. It’s important to the metallurgical business, which performs a key function within the nation’s financial system.
Earlier than Russia’s full-scale invasion two and a half years in the past, metals have been Ukraine’s most important export, accounting for 23% of whole items exports.
Because the nation’s industries have been devastated by the warfare, the worth of their exports has now shrunk to 1 / 4 of their authentic ranges.
Reuters/Thomas PeterA Ukrainian soldier stationed in Pokrovsk instructed the BBC’s Ukraine Radio podcast that the massive variety of industrial buildings in neighboring cities akin to Pokrovsk and Mirnohrad was very useful to Ukraine’s defenses.
The soldier named Ostap mentioned: “They’ll face large challenges in occupying this space as a result of this can be a extremely industrialized space with an important protection line.”
Requested in regards to the potential penalties of the autumn of Pokrovsk, he mentioned: “These cities have been utterly destroyed, many individuals died and suffered so much.”
“There will probably be extra cities to comply with, so I actually hope we are able to cease them within the suburbs of Mirnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
The seize of Pokrovsk additionally had symbolic significance.
The Kremlin’s media machine will use it to steadiness the embarrassment of Ukraine’s occupation of territory in Russia’s Kusk border area.
It could even be an necessary step in the direction of the complete occupation of Ukraine’s Donetsk area, which Russia claimed as a part of its territory as early as September 2022.
