‘The Russian army is breaking through a key node of Ukrainian defense,’ – CNN

Russian forces are slowly advancing towards the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, threatening a vital Ukrainian supply line.

CNN reports this development.

For several months, Russia has been stretching Ukrainian defenses along the entire eastern front line, attempting to seize as much territory as possible before fresh Ukrainian forces and new shipments of Western weapons arrive on the battlefield.

The advance towards Pokrovsk is causing concern for Ukraine and its allies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the difficult situation in his nightly address. Analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated on Tuesday that Russian forces have recently achieved “significant tactical successes” in the area northwest of Avdiivka.

According to ISW, on Tuesday, Russian troops were approximately 20 kilometers from Pokrovsk, continuing what they described as “intense efforts to advance and conduct a limited tactical encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the Pokrovsk direction.”

Pokrovsk is not a major city, but it serves as a key hub for the Ukrainian military due to its easy access to Kostyantynivka, another military center. The road connecting these two areas is used by Ukrainians to replenish frontline troops and evacuate the wounded towards Dnipro. Kostyantynivka forms the southern part of a belt of four Ukrainian cities—along with Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk—that constitute the backbone of Ukraine’s defense in the region. Therefore, any advance of Russian forces towards Kostyantynivka is worrying.

By advancing and making these gradual, seemingly incremental movements along the more than 1,000-kilometer front line, Russia is forcing Ukraine into defensive operations rather than preparing for a counteroffensive, the channel notes.