According to official data from Kiev, the city of Pokrovsk was inhabited by more than 60 thousand inhabitants before the war.
Currently, it is estimated that seven thousand civilians are still in the city and outskirts of Pokrovsk.
According to Syrskyi on Monday, Moscow sent around 150,000 soldiers — out of around 700,000 on Ukrainian territory — towards Pokrovsk, with powerful mechanized groups and four marine brigades.
Russia’s objective is to surround Pokrovsk and neighboring cities from the north, south and east, strangling supply lines and expelling remaining civilians, in its latest maneuver to capture the entire Donetsk region, he said.
But the Ukrainian commander-in-chief rejected claims by Russian state TV and social media propagandists that Pokrovsk has fallen and the Ukrainians are trapped, saying a Ukrainian counterattack in September cost the invaders “around 13,000” casualties and allowed Ukrainian forces to regain more than 427 square kilometers.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, with the argument of protecting pro-Russian separatist minorities in the east and “denazifying” the neighboring country, independent since 1991 – after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union – and which has been moving away from Moscow’s space of influence and moving closer to Europe and the West.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory has plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
On the diplomatic level, Russia has so far rejected any prolonged ceasefire and demands, to put an end to the conflict, that Ukraine cede to it at least four regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia – in addition to the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014, and renounce forever joining NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Western defense bloc).
These conditions are considered unacceptable by Ukraine, which, together with European allies, demands an unconditional 30-day ceasefire before entering into peace negotiations with Moscow.
For its part, Russia considers that accepting such an offer would allow Ukrainian forces, struggling at the front, to rearm, thanks to Western military supplies.