Advance to Pokrovsk may culminate Russian operation ongoing since October 2022, says expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“The Pokrovsk direction remains the most challenging. The current dynamics of hostilities involve 180-200 clashes per day, a level of intensity not seen in a long time. It appears that the Russian army's capabilities are at their peak, with one third of these clashes occurring in the Pokrovsk sector. Observers agree that the enemy aims to advance on Pokrovsk and the Novohrodivka-Hrodivka highway, but recent days have seen minimal progress. This indicates that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have likely been reinforced in this area,” the military expert noted.

According to him, it is evident that Russia has shifted its focus south to the area around the town of Selydove, where the number of clashes has increased. However, progress in this area remains limited. Holding Selydove is critically important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“This advance to the south is now creating additional threats for other units, when we talk about the Karlivka - Nevelske area and beyond, where the enemy is trying to create preconditions for encircling a number of our units. Ukrainian units have withdrawn from the Karlivka area. Now the enemy is trying to advance from north to south along the Vovcha River, where the dynamics are also quite high. But in any case, even with all the optimistic indicators for Russia, even if all the stars align on the side of the Russians, the advance to Pokrovsk will take another month or two, which may be the culmination of the entire Russian operation since October 2022, when the assault on Avdiivka began,” summarized Serhiy Zgurets.

• On September 2, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that 182 combat clashes took place on the frontline between the two armies over the past day on September 1. Russia is attacking the Pokrovsk direction the most, particularly in the area of Novohrodivka.