Russia announces that it has captured towns in Luhansk and Donetsk. Russian troops are advancing ever further towards Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian president, for his part, reports the capture of further areas in Kursk.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russian troops have captured two villages in eastern Ukraine. They are Stelmakhivka in the Luhansk region and Mykolaivka in the Donetsk region, Russian news agencies report. The General Staff of Ukraine announced in a morning report on Thursday that Ukrainian forces are repelling attacks in the Stelmakhivka area.
Previously, Ukraine had reported successes of its own: during its invasion of the Russian region of Kursk, the armed forces took control of further areas, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The areas at issue are on the border with Ukraine, Zelensky said in his evening video address on Wednesday. The Ukrainian head of state did not provide any details.
Selensky admits problems
According to Zelensky, the Kursk offensive is preventing Russia from increasing its already high pressure on the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk because it has to concentrate on defending its territory. However, the pressure in the Donetsk region has not yet decreased. Western military observers have confirmed that Russian troops are making progress in the Pokrovsk region. Zelensky also admitted that there are problems.
“It is extremely difficult in the Donetsk region, the main Russian efforts and the largest forces are concentrated right there,” said Zelensky. “What is very important now is the resilience of each of our units, our ability to destroy the occupier.”
38,000 people are still waiting in Pokrovsk
The people of Pokrovsk have been called upon to flee. The authorities have ordered the evacuation of the city in view of the impending advance of Russian troops. According to the report, 38,000 people are still in the city, including 1,900 children. The head of the Donetsk military administration, Vadym Filashkin, announced that all banks in Pokrovsk would be closed from Monday. Only ATMs would then be functioning.
For Russia, the capture of the city, which is important because of its railway junction, is the next milestone in the war of aggression against Ukraine that has been going on for more than two and a half years. One of Moscow’s main goals is to bring the Donetsk region, which has been largely occupied until now, completely under Russian control. Russian troops have recently repeatedly captured towns in eastern Ukraine.
In addition, there was another air raid warning in large parts of the country during the night. Two missiles intercepted by Russia were intercepted and 60 of 74 drones aimed at Ukraine were destroyed, the Ukrainian military said.
Ukraine attacks fuel depot and ammunition depot in Russia
Russia’s armed forces said they repelled several Ukrainian drone attacks in the border region of Bryansk and on Sevastopol in the south of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow. No damage was caused.
Ukraine also confirmed that it had attacked fuel depots and an ammunition depot on Russian soil. The military announced on Telegram that it had attacked in the Rostov, Voronezh and Kirov oblasts. The aim was to destroy Russian energy and military infrastructure as well as transport routes. Russia reported on Wednesday that oil tanks were burning after Ukrainian attacks. There was initially no comment from the Ukrainian side.
(APA/Reuters/ed.)
