Pokrovske Escalation. Arestovych announced an operational crisis for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbas

The “Kursk celebration” of Ukrainian authorities is coming to an end due to the situation in the Pokrovsk direction.

This opinion was expressed on social media by former advisor to the President’s Office, Oleksiy Arestovych.

“The enemy has cut off the Pokrovsk-Karlivka road. Their intentions are obvious: the Pokrovsk salient is being driven in to cut off the Kurakhove and Toretsk flanks with flanking strikes. Thus (if they succeed), the enemy will seize the central areas of the Donetsk region, which are still under our control,” he wrote.

According to the former advisor, the pace of the Russian advance in the Pokrovsk direction “can no longer be described as anything other than an operational crisis for us.”

Arestovych stated that the only thing that might stop this is a shortage of Russian troops, but it’s unclear whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces have enough strength to thwart these plans.

“In the troops (and this is the most troubling part), there are growing rumors that the Donetsk region is simply being surrendered through an agreement with the Kremlin—this is a sign of very serious demoralization,” the former advisor to the President’s Office wrote.

Earlier, MP Maryana Bezuhla also reported failures in the Pokrovsk direction and the abandonment of Novogrodovka.