Urban battles may take place in Toretsk in 7-10 days - military expert

He said this on Espreso TV.

"Today, the Defense Forces of Ukraine can hold Toretsk. However, we will witness urban battles in Toretsk. I believe that in 7-10 days, the Russian troops will enter the town and street fighting will begin. In this way, Russia aims to complete its attempt to capture the entire Donetsk region within its administrative borders. Accordingly, the occupying army will deploy all possible means at the directions of Siversk, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Kurakhove, and Kramatorsk to achieve this goal," explained Kevliuk.

The expert also mentioned that in the Pokrovsk direction, Russia has the forces and means to achieve operational success.

"In the Pokrovsk sector, the Russian forces have achieved tactical success and have the forces and means to turn this success into an operational one. The Russian army has to advance 6 km to cut the main logistics routes of Ukraine's Defense Forces.

Such actions by the Russian troops will create unfavorable conditions for further defense in the Toretsk sector for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian troops will be forced to retreat to the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka-Konstantynivka-Pokrovsk line. This is a not-so-good development for Ukraine. This development is undesirable for Ukraine because it will lose control over significant territories that need to be liberated later," he added.

• General Andriy Hnatov's appointment as commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces may be related to the events in the Toretsk sector.

• On June 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy changed the commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces and appointed Andriy Hnatov to replace Yuriy Sodol.