Civilians flee Pokrovsk as Russia’s army bears down on the key eastern Ukraine city

 

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.