Russian Troops Novohrodivka Ukraines Donetsk: Strategic Implications Analyzed
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia announced on Sunday that its forces have fully captured a town in eastern Ukraine as they advance towards the strategically significant city of Pokrovsk, aiming to breach Ukrainian defensive lines.
Since the invasion in February 2022, Russian forces have taken control of about one-fifth of Ukraine. They are now pushing forward in eastern Ukraine to seize the entire Donbas region, which is roughly half the size of Ohio.
According to Russia’s defense ministry, their forces have captured the town of Novohrodivka, located 12 km (7 miles) from Pokrovsk, a crucial rail and road hub for Ukrainian forces. Before the war, Novohrodivka had a population of 14,000.
Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, shared maps showing Russian forces advancing beyond Novohrodivka in at least two locations less than 7 km (4 miles) from Pokrovsk.
Due to reporting restrictions, Reuters could not immediately verify battlefield reports from either side.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin stated that a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region had failed to hinder Russia’s progress in eastern Ukraine and had weakened Kyiv’s defenses along the front line, benefiting Moscow.
Ukraine’s top military commander reported on Thursday that Kyiv’s incursion into the Kursk region was effective and that there had been no Russian advances on Pokrovsk for the past six days. He mentioned that one goal of the Kursk incursion was to divert Russian forces from other areas, primarily Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. While Russia had redirected significant forces to Kursk, they were also reinforcing the Pokrovsk front.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that the Kursk operation aimed to prevent Russian forces from crossing the border in the opposite direction.
Currently, Russia controls about 80% of Donbas. Some Russian war bloggers have expressed concerns about the army overextending itself due to the rapid pace of recent advances in the east.
In February 2022, Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, referring to it as a special military operation. Ukraine and its Western allies have pledged to defeat Russian forces and expel all Russian troops.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by Reuters bureau in Kyiv; Editing by Jan Harvey)
