Ukrainian troops never withdraw without reason – military expert on eastern direction

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

“We never abandon positions without reason. We observe how fiercely and under extreme risk the areas we call 'pockets' are defended. Regarding the Pokrovsk-Kurakhove-Velyka Novosilka area, the enemy is actively attempting to break this line, which would allow them to redeploy some units and form specific flanks, creating a grouping or making operational changes to intensify actions in the Pokrovsk sector,” Zgurets stated.

According to the military expert, the pace of Russia’s advance in the eastern sections of the front is not the most critical factor. While the timing of the advance and the area captured are important, the key concern is the extent to which Russian forces are destroyed. This remains the primary objective for Ukrainian units defending these areas.

“When it comes to the enemy's pace of advance in the Pokrovsk sector, in Chasiv Yar, or Kupyansk, we see that the defense is holding. The challenge lies in finding a balance with the reserves, which are quite limited,” emphasized Zgurets.

• In November, Ukraine lost a record 725 square kilometers of territory since the start of the positional war in 2022. However, Russian forces also suffered significant losses, with over 45,000 soldiers killed. The ratio of these losses favored the Ukrainian Armed Forces at a 1-to-5 proportion.
• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost more than 750,000 soldiers in the war in Ukraine. Over the last day, 1,660 soldiers were eliminated.
• The Russian army suffered about 125,800 personnel losses during the fall of 2024.