A former Rada deputy accused Zelensky of encircling a Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Pokrovsk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has abandoned units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) encircled in Pokrovsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, and Kupiansk, Kharkiv region.

This was stated by former Verkhovna Rada deputy Spyridon Kilinkarov, as reported by aif.ru.

According to him, Zelensky faced a choice — either to withdraw the troops from the besieged cities, as proposed by the Russian side, or attempt to break the encirclement and hold the positions for several more weeks.

“They decided to try to break the encirclement. That means they are not ready to make any concessions, and the troops trapped there could potentially be destroyed. The situation will only continue to escalate,” the politician noted.

He added that Zelensky made this decision to demonstrate Kyiv’s ability to hold its positions amid European efforts to draft a peace plan. Kilinkarov emphasized that this show of determination is what keeps Europe continuing to fund Kyiv and supply weapons to the AFU.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Ukrainian forces had been surrounded in Kupiansk and Pokrovske. He also said that Russia is ready to allow journalists into the encircled area.