Russian troops near Donetsk border, but situation not critical — military expert

Military observer Vasyl Pehno spoke about this on Espreso TV.

"Everything happening in the Novopavlivka sector comes down to resources," explained Pehno. "In some areas, where two Ukrainian brigades should be holding the line, only one is. These resources were seriously reduced after the change in command. Specifically, when the 20th Army Corps replaced the Vuhledar tactical group that had been operating here. This isn’t a criticism of the 20th Corps’ leadership, the issue is that the previous formation, which covered several areas, was pulled out all at once and replaced by a single unit. Naturally, the 20th Corps doesn’t have enough forces for this sector."

Despite Russian pressure in the Novopavlivka direction, Pehno said Russian troops have no real operational prospects on this part of the front.

"I understand that the situation in the Novopavlivka sector looks bad and that the Russians are really close to reaching the borders of Donetsk region, but the situation is not catastrophic. There are no operational prospects for the Russians in this area. That is, they cannot come from this area and block Pokrovsk from the west, or they cannot move on to Pavlohrad or Zaporizhzhia. That is, there are no defense points here as such, and the enemy is likely to stop along the borders of Donetsk region, which is quite possible. Therefore, I think there is no catastrophic scenario here, but the situation does require close attention from the Ukrainian Defense Forces command," he added.

• In the Novopavlivka sector, Russian troops are trying to advance along roads leading to settlements near the Dnipropetrovsk region, while in Pokrovsk, they’re pushing toward Kostiantynivka.