People evacuated Monday
from Pokrovsk, in eastern Ukraine, carrying large luggage and clutching little
children. Despite a swift Ukrainian advance into Russia's Kursk region, the
Russian army was closing in.
Families were told to
evacuate the city and several surrounding towns and villages beginning on
Tuesday, according to local authorities, since Russian forces were moving so
swiftly forward. According to officials, there are still about 53,000 residents
in Pokrovsk, some of whom have made the decision to leave right away.
All ages piled onto
trains and buses, taking just the possessions they could manage. A few cried
while they waited to go. Volunteers assisted individuals with disabilities, and
soldiers assisted the elderly with their bags. Bulletproof vests were worn by
rail workers.
Natalya Ivaniuk said
the noise of explosions from Russian bombardments filled the air while she and
her daughters, age 7 and 9, fled their home in the nearby village of Myrnohrad,
which is less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the front line.
One of Ukraine's
primary defense strongholds and a vital center for supplies in the Donetsk
region is Pokrovsk. Should it be taken, Ukraine's supply lines and defense
capabilities would be jeopardized, and Russia would go closer to its declared
goal of seizing control of the entire Donetsk region.
The surprising invasion
into Russia's Kursk area on August 6 was one of Kyiv's measures to relieve
pressure on its eastern front. Among other things, the incursion was intended
to shake up the Kremlin and force it to divide its military forces.
According to Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday, the audacious offensive aims to
establish a buffer zone that might stop Moscow from launching additional border
attacks, particularly with long-range artillery, missiles, and glide bombs.
In a social media
statement, Zelenskyy said Monday evening that Ukraine currently controlled
1,250 square kilometers (about 480 square miles) and 92 settlements inside the
Kursk region.
“The Russian border
area opposite our Sumy region has been mostly cleared of Russian military
presence,” he said. “Now, our warriors’ real success speaks for itself. Our
defensive actions across the border, as well as Putin’s inability to defend his
territory, are telling. Our proactive defense is the most effective counter to
Russian terror, causing significant difficulties for the aggressor.”
After capturing
Avdiivka, Russia began a six-month campaign of relentless advance across the
Donetsk area of Ukraine, which has cost them dearly in terms of soldiers and
armor. The assault has, nevertheless, steadily paid off as Ukrainian soldiers
are forced to retreat from positions that Russian artillery, missiles, and
bombers have destroyed.
“There is a lot of
destruction around us, so it becomes more and more scary to stay,” said Tetiana
Myronenko, 57, who came from Selydove just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the
front line.
She sat next to her
husband in the car of a train waiting to leave Pokrovsk. It was bound for Lviv,
hundreds of kilometers (miles) away in western Ukraine.
The Donbas industrial
region, which consists of Donetsk and the nearby city of Luhansk, is under
Russian control in its entirety.
Last week, officials
issued a warning, stating that Russian forces were only 10 kilometers (6 miles)
from the Pokrovsk suburbs and were advancing quickly.
The commander-in-chief
of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported on Monday that "heavy
battles" were occurring in the Pokrovsk region.
He stated that there is
also intense pressure on the nearby town of Toretsk, whose capture would allow
Russia to march on the vital bastion of Chasiv Yar from the south.
Over the previous six
months, Russian soldiers have reportedly advanced in the Pokrovsk region at a
rate of about two square kilometers (0.8 square miles) every day, according to
the Institute for the Study of War.
They have relied on
frontal infantry assaults from village to village, notching incremental
progress as they make their manpower and materiel advantages tell, the
Washington-based think tank said late Sunday.
Residents were being
met by Pokrovsk officials to give them information on the evacuation's
logistics. A place to stay has been offered to people in western Ukraine, where
they will be accommodated in separate homes and dorms.
0 Comments