The Financial Times criticized Zelensky for sending troops for an offensive near Kursk instead of defending Pokrovsk

The Financial Times published an article criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his decision to send troops to advance near Kursk rather than defending Pokrovsk.

The article was posted on the publication’s website.

The article notes that the president faced a wave of criticism from military personnel, lawmakers and military analysts for this decision. Since August 6, when the Kursk operation began, the Russian offensive near Pokrovsk has accelerated, with many military positions being abandoned due to insufficient manpower and ammunition to defend them.

Currently, Russian forces are only 8 km away from Pokrovsk. In the past three weeks, they have quickly captured more than 20 settlements with minimal resistance.

The article presents opinions from various Ukrainian analysts, from Deep State to “Information Resistance,” who speak of “chaos” and a “complete failure of defense.” Soldiers and officers report that they have never seen such rapid enemy advancement before: “Everything is falling apart so quickly. Pokrovsk will fall much faster than Bakhmut.”

“Ukraine has sent reserves to Kursk, leaving fewer opportunities to fill gaps elsewhere. Some of the more experienced brigades have been replaced by new, less experienced units,” says Robert Lee, a researcher at the American Foreign Policy Research Institute.

A lieutenant mentioned another factor—the deployment of unprepared fighters, mobilized in the summer under new rules: “They freeze… they don’t know what to do in a real battle. They turn around and run at the first explosion.”

However, the military does not criticize the soldiers but rather the army’s command structure, citing systemic failures and “inadequate responses to changing battle conditions.”

Stanislav Aseev, a Ukrainian journalist and soldier fighting on the eastern front, warned of the possible “destruction of the entire southern grouping of troops in the region, not just Pokrovsk.”

The article describes Pokrovsk as a strategically important city, one of two key railway and road hubs in the Donetsk region. Losing it would threaten the logistics of the entire region and open a path for Russia towards the Dnipro.

“What can be done for Pokrovsk? Unfortunately, the only option is to evacuate as many people as possible. I think the city will soon cease to exist,” Aseev says.

Analysts from the Frontelligence group believe that Ukrainian leadership can still reinforce the frontline by deploying new brigades or reallocating forces from other areas.

“But if Pokrovsk falls, it could pave the way for Russian troops to advance towards the Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, and expand their control even further,” analysts at Frontelligence state.