Russian troops are steadily advancing towards the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. If Ukrainian commanders hoped that their invasion of the Kursk region would divert some of the best Russian regiments and brigades from eastern Ukraine and ease the pressure on Ukrainian troops in the most vulnerable eastern sectors, they are certainly disappointed. For the most part, the Kremlin left its forces in place and instead reinforced the Kursk direction with “young and poorly trained conscripts,” writes Forbes.

This means that Russia’s offensive to the east, which began last fall and expanded by the New Year, continued unimpeded in August. The consequences for Ukraine’s defensive campaign turned out to be terrible. The drumbeat of recent Russian successes east of Pokrovsk, northwest of Donetsk, should sound like an alarm in Kiev. On Friday, Russian infantry entered Novogrodovka, seven miles east of Pokrovsk. Firing a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, they knocked out a Ukrainian tank.

Pokrovsk is located on the main Ukrainian supply lines west of Donetsk. After several weeks of steady Russian successes, the city is in increasing danger. Even the elite 47th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army with two dozen surviving M-1 Abrams tanks could not stop the Russian offensive.

And, although Ukrainian resources claim that Russian losses in this sector were “heavy,” even a slower Russian advance is still an offensive, and Pokrovsk is at even greater risk of falling. If this leads to a broader collapse of Ukrainian defense in the east, the command in Kiev may regret deploying large forces — perhaps a dozen frontline battalions, each with up to 400 troops — near Kursk instead of strengthening Pokrovsk, the author notes.

@ino_tv