Russian forces likely to capture Kurakhove - military expert 

Ivan Stupak, a military expert, made this statement on Espreso TV.

According to Stupak, Kurakhove is currently facing a significant threat. Based on his analysis of the battlefield map, the situation there is dire.

“The Russian troops are advancing, and our forces will likely have to retreat to avoid being surrounded,” Stupak said.

He also noted that after Kurakhove, Russia's next target will most likely be Pokrovsk.

“It’s hard to say exactly how they’ll try to capture it – whether by bypassing from the left or right. But it seems likely they will aim to cut the Pokrovsk-Pavlohrad road in the western part of the Dnipropetrovsk region, forcing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to withdraw from the area. "Pokrovsk could be next, possibly within a month or sooner, depending on the resources the Russians have and are ready to use to capture the city," he explained.

Commenting on the situation in the south, Stupak added that the Russians are likely trying to push from south to north towards Kostiantynivka, aiming to sever the road and isolate Kurakhove.

"In this case, a large area will be surrounded, and the Ukrainian military’s retreat will become a matter of days or even hours, not weeks. Ukrainian troops in the south have been reporting Russian rotations and movements of personnel and equipment for months. They’ve been expecting the situation to worsen, but it’s hard to predict exactly when and to what extent it will escalate. It could be a diversion, but we are seeing constant movement and preparations. A significant number of Russian troops remain in the south, and we can expect them to advance, most likely towards the administrative border between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions," said Stupak.

• Serhiy Zgurets, a military expert and CEO of the Defense Express media and consulting company, noted that Russia would focus its advances near Kurakhove for some time.