The Ukrainian Navy showed on tape how soldiers of the 126th separate Territorial Defence Brigade from Odessa destroyed a boat with Russians trying to cross Dniepr.
— The occupiers have 1 little boat. Not 1 effort to cross Dnieper by the enemy will stay unnoticed,” wrote the Ukrainian Navy on Facebook.
The Russians want to take the Ukrainians in a tong
Russian attempts are part of changing Kremlin's strategy. Ukrainian soldiers in Pokrowsk confirm that Russian forces are trying to usage a deadly winging maneuver alternatively of a leading strike.
Ukrainian forces are presently trying slow down Russian advancement in the strategically crucial town of Pokrowsk in the Donetsk Oblast to prevent Russians from entering the neighbouring Djepropetrovsk Oblast.
Pokrowsk, which is an crucial logistics center, gradually falls into the hands of the Russians. Russian forces have been trying to orbit this city since September last year. Pokrowsk is located at the intersection of respective highways connecting key cities in the east part of the Donetsk Oblast. It is besides an crucial railway junction.
As the Russians now control the highlands around the city, Ukrainian supply routes are within scope of Russian artillery. This makes it easier for Putin soldiers to decision towards the Dzepropetrovsk circuit. They effort to avoid dense urban fights in the east part of the Donetsk region and come out with a fresh offensive on the back of Ukrainians.
Ukrainian supply routes under fire
Ukraine has been preparing for city fights in Pokrowsk for years. Russian forces are approaching from the south and are little than 7 kilometres distant from the road leading to the Djepropetrovsk region. This was reported, among others, by DeepState's analytical portal, which tracks changes on the front on maps and is affiliated with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
"They knew they would lose quite a few their strength trying to get Pokrowsk, so they decided to take a different strategy and approach from the south, bypassing the city. They will effort to cut off all supply lines to Pokrovska so that our forces will gotta retreat from there," Andrij Czerniak, a high-ranking officer in Ukrainian military intelligence, said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Russian forces carry out massive attacks on the road connecting the Djepropetrovsk region with Pokrowski. Ukrainian soldier, nicknamed “Muchny”, in an interview with the local Ukrainian portal Kamenskoe.city said that “The enemy is utilizing air bombs. to attack this long of road".
“Russia started utilizing air bombs very intensively on the Dniepr-Pokrowsk road, now driving here is very dangerous,” said the soldier.
The crater after the hit of the Russian air bomb KAB
According to the portal, Russian forces are located about 10 km from the highway, which importantly complicates traffic and poses additional threats to military and civilian people. It is added that the situation remains tense and the danger of utilizing the road increases.
Pavlohrad may be Putin's next target
As late reported by DeepState portal, Russian forces proceed to storm operations on the Pokrovsk front, especially close the towns of Sribne, Udarne and Zwirowe.
“The border of the Djepropetrovsk region is now about 6.5 km away,” stated Russian military blogger Wojenkor Kotenok in a post on the profile on the Telegram platform.
According to the Financial Times, another large city in the Djepropetrovsk Oblast is Pavlohrad. There is an crucial Ukrainian military base and industrial centre.
The administrative capital of the region is Dniepr, the 4th largest city in Ukraine. In late January, Ukrainian military expert Ivan Stupak warned that the Russians were seeking to cut the link between Pokrowski and Pavlograd.
— If we consider bigger targets, The goal is to capture Constantinówka and much of the surrounding territory “The situation is critical,” he said.
— Even tiny Russian territorial conquests in the form of 5 sq km in this area would be a crucial failure for Ukraine, as they would lead to an extension of the war to another area. The battles could yet spread to the Djepropetrovsk region, including Pavlohrad, which is of strategical importance both from the defensive point of view and from the point of view of the historical rocket program.
How rapidly Russian forces will be able to get the road to Dnepropetrovsk will depend on the level of reinforcements in this area and on the number of Ukrainian forces, which are little and less.
Moscow is determined to occupy as much territory as possible, as US president Donald Trump's administration insists on negotiations to end the war. While Russian troops proceed to advance on the front in east Ukraine, Kiev has a negotiating advantage in the form of territory occupied in the Russian Kursk Oblast. This area can be utilized to exchange land in future peace negotiations, at least that is what Ukrainians are counting on.
