Ukraine’s military confirmed in its latest war update that battles are ongoing with Russian forces in the quest to control the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army disclosed that the most intense of the 54 clashes detected took place around Pokrovsk.
The army added that Russian forces also launched a series of air strikes using guided aerial bombs.
Ukrainian soldiers in Eastern Ukraine defended the city of Pokrovsk with heavy artillery.
The Ukrainian military reported Russian assaults around Kharkiv, Kupiansk, Lyman and Kramatorsk.
In Toretsk, it said that Russian forces had launched five attacks so far today with backing from a bomber aircraft dropping 11 Anti fortification missiles on the Donetsk city.
According to the Institute for the Study of War and Critical Threats Project, two US-based war monitors, evidence suggests that Ukrainian forces seized Vishnevka southwest of Koronevo, an area where heavy fighting continues.
Ukrainian forces also advanced in eastern Koronevo, as well as in fields northeast of it, but met resistance.
Russian forces appeared to regain some lost positions and advanced in fields south of Safonovka, some 30km (18.6 miles) from the two countries’ borders.
Ukrainian forces were documented to operate on the Snagost-Liubimivka road, indicating that they “continue operating well within the maximalist claimed limit of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast.”
Ukrainian forces continued efforts to attack Russian pontoon bridges over the Seym River in Glushkovo Raion.
Also on Wednesday, the Russian military says Ukrainian forces launched two explosive drones against targets in the territory of Belgorod, with air defences successfully intercepting them.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Governor of the Russian territory, said that the village of Konovalovo in the Volokonovsky district was attacked by a drone, causing damage to an electricity line and disrupting power.
“In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka in the Shebekinsky urban district, as a result of shelling, windows were broken in one private house, the gate and outbuilding were damaged, and the glazing in the second was damaged,” he wrote.
According to Gladkov, border municipalities are being equipped with electronic warfare gear to counter drone attacks.
Russian Takeover Of Pokrovsk Deemed Significant
Domitilla Sagromoso, Senior Lecturer in conflict and security at Kings College London, opined that a Russian takeover of Pokrovsk in Donetsk would be significant for Moscow’s advances in the eastern region of Ukraine because the city is a communications hub.
“There have been important centres and strongholds of Ukraine armed forces there, especially in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, since 2014,” she told a news agency.
She added that if Russian troops seize the area, they can take control of the whole of the Donetsk region, setting themselves up to challenge Ukrainian cities and villages farther west.
Sagromoso stated that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia has boosted morale among its armed forces.
“This will also have an impact on how Russia decides to organise its defences,” she said, adding that Moscow is currently not diverting massive forces from Donetsk but it “cannot ignore these advances into Kursk for too long.”
Also, Military expert and former spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Vladyslav Seleznov told a news agency that the likely reasons behind Russia’s determination to capture this city.
He said that Russian President, Vladimir Putin has harbored ambitions since the beginning of the so-called special military operation to occupy the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
While Russia has largely controlled Luhansk, the situation in Donetsk remains challenging.
“The vast urban Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration is, even in distant dreams, inaccessible to Putin’s army. However, Pokrovsk, as a target in the western part of Donetsk region, is a more realistic option for occupation according to the Russian General Staff.”
Vladyslav Seleznov
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