As Russian Federation forces conquer territory faster than at any other point since the start of the war, the MSM had to upgrade their game, abandon most (but not all) of the narrative copes and, in an effort to get things right and fast, started doing what we have been doing here for 2 years: reading the Russian military bloggers and reporting upon it.
Now, Ukraine is about to lose one of the most important Donetsk cities it still holds, a road and rail hub vital for logistics and supply, and the last coking coal plant – in a blow to its once mighty steel industry.
Reuters reported:
“Russian forces are just 1.5 km (1 mile) outside the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk [Russian name Krasnoarmeysk] after Russian units pushed up from the south towards the road and rail hub which had a pre-war population of 60,000 people”
Peace should have been sought long before now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 13, 2024
Russia has conquered and incorporated about 20 percent of the former Ukrainian territory.
And now, the Red Army is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.
As the main forces approach and encircle the town, special forces reportedly have penetrated ahead and are already in the city.
“The fall of Pokrovsk, an important logistics center for the Ukrainian military, would be one of Ukraine’s biggest military losses in months.”
Watch: Ukrainian armored car hits an anti-tank mine near Prokrovsk.
Shevchenko
M113 ucraniano tentava avançar rumo Shevchenko, ao sul de Pokrovsk, mas acabou atingindo uma mina anti-tanque. pic.twitter.com/KNneiV7HmG
— Militar.Ru (@militar_ru) December 13, 2024
“Control of the city, which the Russian media call ‘the gateway to Donetsk’, would allow Moscow to severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and boost its campaign to capture the city of Chasov Yar, which sits on higher ground offering potential control of a wider area.
Squeezing the Ukrainian military’s access to the road network in the vicinity would make it harder for Kyiv’s troops to hold pockets of territory either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to consolidate and advance the front line.”
Watch: Russian forces raise the tricolor flag over a destroyed armored car.
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) December 13, 2024
The city is also where a vital mine is located, Ukraine’s only domestic coking coal supplier for its steel industry.
Sputnik reported:
“Ukraine’s largest steel producer, Metinvest, has suspended coal mining at its site near Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) in the Donetsk People’s Republic due to ongoing hostilities in the region, according to a report by Bloomberg. This site is responsible for approximately half of the company’s total coal production.”
Watch: Russian Drone strike on a Ukrainian French-supplied Ceasar self-propelled gun.
FPV strike on a “Caesar” SP Gun — Pokrovsk Direction pic.twitter.com/FBxtqdeTXV
— Tony (@Cyberspec1) December 10, 2024
In the meantime, Ukrainian forces removed Donetsk group commander after Russian breakthrough to Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo.
Slavyangrad reported:
“Tarnavskiy has been appointed commander of the Donetsk group instead of General Lutsenko, [Ukrainian] Rada MP Bezuglaya said.
‘This concerns the defense of the entire Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo directions, including the defense of Pokrovsk, as well as countering the Russian offensive on Zaporizhzhya and the Dnieper’,” Bezuglaya wrote.”
One of the reasons is reported to be the fact that the Ukrainian defenders abandoned and surrendered without a fight a brand new defense line of strongholds near Pokrovsk.
My Lord Bebo reported:
“The territorial defense units that the Ukrainian command sent to this position, realizing that for them it was a one-way ticket, simply refused to carry out the order and deserted.”
[…] ‘The beds are still new and unpacked in foil’ one soldier says and they happy about all the food that was provided to motivate the soldiers to come and fight.”
UKRAINIAN LINES COLLAPSE!
“Thanks” the Russian army says to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Army surrendered a newly built strong defense line near Pokrovsk without a fight.
The territorial defense units that the Ukrainian command to sent to this position, realizing that for… pic.twitter.com/baTJfLt5GO
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 12, 2024
The battles in Pokrovsk are ‘exceptionally tough’, so Ukraine’s military leadership has to make ‘non-standard decisions’, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
Kyiv Independent reported:
“Syrskyi’s comments followed a visit to the 38th Separate Marine Brigade, operating on the front lines in the Pokrovsk sector.
‘We have to make non-standard decisions to increase the resilience of the defense and more effectively destroy the occupiers’, he said in a Facebook post. ‘The battles are of an exceptionally tough nature’.”
Syrskyi did not say what kinds of unconventional decisions would be required, but responded to ‘existing problems’ by issuing ‘appropriate orders’.
The DPRK flag appeared near the recently liberated village of Tsukurino in the Pokrovsk direction.
It looks like the soldiers on the ground decided to tease the enemy. pic.twitter.com/ccrfL6iP9N
— SIMPLICIUS Ѱ (@simpatico771) October 21, 2024
Read more:
The post Russian Forces Reach Outskirts of Key Donetsk City of Pokrovsk – Chief Ukrainian General in Donetsk Ousted – Last Coking Coal Mine Stops Operations (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
