"Flooding in from all directions": Ukrainian officer Iievliev on eastern front situation

He discussed this during an interview on Espreso TV.

“The situation is extremely tough, shifting three times a day. There’s no easing of their positions, no reduction in equipment, no drop in personnel. For the last month, month and a half, two, it’s been constant assaults and relentless pushes without any pauses for regrouping or rotation. It’s hard to claim Russia is running out of personnel. This is happening in both our Toretsk and Pokrovsk directions, making the situation genuinely difficult. This complexity stems from various factors, including certain geographical features. We expected that the Russian troops wouldn’t advance here, but unfortunately... The same goes for some of our local commanders — platoon and company commanders — their expectations were off, and now the Russians are flooding in from all directions,” he explained.

The officer also highlighted that Russian forces are not setting up defenses but are continually advancing.

“The DeepState map shows their positions. You only establish positions when your front line stays fixed for two, three weeks. But if you observe the dynamics, every day, they make some progress. They’re not digging in new defenses or setting up fresh positions every day. But you can imagine, based on the DeepState, how many positions we had prepared that the enemy has now occupied. Yes, some of these positions were strategically placed by us, and from a military science perspective, they might have been advantageous. But look at how quickly and how many settlements, unfortunately, fall under Russian occupation. The only thing that keeps the guys going is the hope that command has a plan and that everything happening now is part of that plan. Because if it isn’t, then the situation is truly unpleasant,” the officer noted.

• On August 28, there were 195 combat clashes across the front. Russian troops are focusing their main offensive efforts on the Pokrovsk direction.