Russia has deployed about 170,000 soldiers in the Donetsk region, where it is attempting to capture the city of Pokrovsk in a major offensive aimed at achieving victory on the battlefield, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the AP News agency.
“The situation in Pokrovsk is difficult,” Zelensky said, while at the same time rejecting recent Russian claims that the devastated city has been encircled after more than a year of fighting.
He admitted that some Russian units have infiltrated the city but insisted that Ukrainian defenders are eliminating them.
“There are Russians in Pokrovsk. They are being destroyed, gradually destroyed, because, well, we have to preserve our people,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv.
During previous sieges in the nearly four-year war, Ukraine withdrew from certain positions to avoid losing soldiers. Ukrainian forces are desperately short of manpower in the fight against the far larger Russian army.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stated that Russian forces are making significant advances on the front, although the progress is slow and costly — both in terms of manpower and armored vehicles.
“We retaliate by striking targets inside Russia”
Ukraine is retaliating by striking targets inside Russia in order to disrupt military logistics and force Russian civilians to feel the consequences of the war.
Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has carried out more than 160 successful long-range attacks on Russian oil extraction and processing facilities, said the head of the Ukrainian Security Service, Vasyl Malyuk, to reporters.
Just in September and October, Ukraine carried out 20 attacks on Russian oil facilities, Malyuk stated.
“It is clear that we are not resting on our achievements. There are many new prospects and new approaches in this work. This includes new equipment, new combat units, as well as new methods and means of communication,” said Malyuk.
Rise in civilian casualties
Meanwhile, Russian drones hit residential buildings in the northeastern city of Sumy overnight, injuring 11 people, including four children. Energy infrastructure in the southern Odesa region was also attacked, local authorities reported yesterday.
The war has been deadlier for civilians this year than in 2024, with a 30 percent increase in the number of casualties so far, said the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale.
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Source: B92, Foto: EPA