Russian forces are trying to bypass and encircle Pokrovsk to deprive the town’s defenders of resource supplies.
Spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group of Troops Viktor Trehubov, stated this in a televised broadcast, Ukrinform reports.
“Russians are attempting to bypass and surround Pokrovsk from the south and southwest. They have somewhat stalled, and the intensity of their assault operations has decreased, but it remains high. The resistance has become too strong for them, and they have encountered objective difficulties. Nonetheless, their ambition remains the same — to encircle the town from the west, cut off the routes leading to it, and leave the town’s defenders without supplies, or at least restrict them. They have thrown their main forces into this effort,” Trehubov said.
According to him, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are striking enemy infrastructure to slow down their advance.
“Russians are actively fortifying the occupied territory. Meanwhile, we are targeting their infrastructure, warehouses, and airfields. We are not destroying the routes themselves but rather their key logistical hubs. This has had an effect, for instance, the use of Russian aviation has decreased. This constrains their ability to advance actively,” the Spokesperson noted.
In his opinion, the occupiers currently do not have a significant advantage to conduct active combat operations near Pokrovsk, and fatigue is felt on both sides.
“Right now, Russians lack a major advantage that would allow them to advance effectively without significant losses, without stalling, and without suffering thousands of casualties daily. On both sides, this somewhat resembles a boxing match in the tenth round, where both fighters are exhausted, but the one who was more aggressive earlier is now more fatigued and starting to ‘hang’ on their opponent,” Trehubov explained.
As reported earlier, Trehubov previously stated that the pace of the Russian offensive is slowing down as they are stuck in urban battles for Chasiv Yar and Toretsk, as well as in their attempt to encircle Pokrovsk.
Source: Russians attempting to cut off supply routes to Pokrovsk – military
