Ukraine tries to fend off intensifying Russian attacks on strategic eastern city • FRANCE 24

Ukraine tries to fend off intensifying Russian attacks on strategic eastern city • FRANCE 24

Ukrainian forces are struggling to fend off intensifying Russian advances on the eastern city of Pakorovsk. Moscow’s troops continuing to close in on the key logistics hub after more than a year of grinding advances which Keefe says has come at a staggering human cost to Russia. Ukraine saying some 11,000 troops are now trying to encircle the city and the surrounding area. We’re going to cross then live to Harky talk to our correspondent Emanuel Shaz who joins us from there. Emanuel, first of all, bring us up to date on the latest on what is so, uh, important, what is so vital, the current situation on the ground there. Well, uh, we’ve been talking about Russian troops closing in on on Pocross for more than a year now. Uh, it was a nutrition war until now, and it has been a few days now uh, that the Ukrainian side has also acknowledged that the situation has considerably deteriorated in Bocar itself. Why? because since this summer there were some incursions of Russian soldiers within uh the city but they had always been uh repaired by the Ukrainian uh defense. What has changed now is that it seems that at least 200 Russian soldiers have managed to stay within Bocar city center and that seems to be corroborated by uh open sources uh uh uh intelligence since we’ve seen exactions crimes being committed against uh the civilians who stayed in uh this city. you know some people cannot leave those places because they can they are living with disabilities because they are too old because they don’t have the financial means to settle elsewhere and a few days ago we’ve seen video footage uh showing civilians uh uh having been killed uh by Russian troops there. So that’s an indication that Russians uh have managed to uh uh you know to settle within the city. It doesn’t mean that there is no fighting. In fact, there is a chaotic situation uh uh to the admission also of uh the Ukrainian uh uh the Ukrainian army that’s fighting ongoing brutal fighting happening within the city uh with those Russian troops also are trying to to uh kill Ukrainian soldiers when they are on position for example drone operators and so a very chaotic situation within the city. It doesn’t mean it is uncircled yet as uh uh was saying Russian President Vladimir Putin. It doesn’t seem to be the case according to uh open source. However, logistics have become increasingly difficult uh for the Ukrainian defense not just in Pocr but also in uh the uh uh the city just next to it Mnor where uh Ukrainian troops are also encountering difficulties there. Pros has been holding for more than a year now and it seems indeed that this situation uh has become very dire. You were mentioning uh as many as 11,000 Russian troops have been gathered uh there. So we could see a further intensification of the fighting in that area. And explain to us Emanuel as well why this area and why this city is so important strategically. It is a very important city. uh it was part of the uh you know fortress belt of uh Donbas for Ukrainians as long as they were holding it. Uh it’s also if you look at a map uh you know uh it it is an uh it is opening the route towards the neighboring region of Nepopetros which is also uh seeing more and more uh fighting more and more shelling from Russians who have been advancing uh within that region. So of course the fall of Proski if that happens in the coming weeks in the coming months would be uh a huge loss for the Ukrainian army which has been defending it for more than a year now. But to the admission of Lord Zilinski himself the Ukrainian troops they are fighting uh uh there Russians are outnumbering uh them by 8 to one. So the situation is uh quite tense in that sector. Of course you have three uh main uh cities in Donetsk region which are not under Russian occupation yet. It is Pocross Gismatoskit Slavansk Pocross falls it means that Ukraine will lose uh yet another uh of its key uh defense city in uh that region. So we will be uh watching how this develops u over the coming days, weeks uh months.

Ukrainian forces are struggling to fend off intensifying Russian advances around the eastern city of Pokrovsk. Moscow’s troops have in recent weeks closed in on the key logistics hub after more than a year of grinding advances, which Kyiv says have come at a staggering human cost to Russia. FRANCE 24’s Emmanuelle Chaze tells us more on why this battle is so strategic, from Kharkiv.
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