Russian troops change tactics of Pokrovsk offensive, military spokesman says

Viktor Trehubov, a spokesman for the Khortytsia military grouping, said this during a telethon.

“They are trying to bypass the city from the west through small villages and forest belts and try to put pressure, to disrupt our logistics chains. Our efforts are aimed at preventing this, as we have Pokrovsk itself, as we have this base from which to operate,” he said, adding that the enemy's offensive is slowing down.

Trehubov noted that the Russians have now reached the point where they are being hit from Pokrovsk itself. The occupants realized that they could not go forward and began to circle the city.

“Our task in this situation is to destroy them. In the Pokrovsk sector, the intensity of fighting is comparable to all our other sectors combined. There are up to 70 clashes per day. Even if one group is destroyed, another group tries to take its place,” explained the spokesman.

• Military expert Dmytro Sniehyriov stated that Russian forces had lost at least 10,000–15,000 soldiers while advancing only 1.5 km in the Pokrovsk direction over a month.