Recent Russian advances have placed the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast within approximately 16 kilometers from the current front line, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported in its intelligence update on Aug. 9.
"Russian Ground Forces have continued conducting offensive operations along multiple areas of the front line, with Russia achieving further tactical advances," the ministry said.
After Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the Pokrovsk direction, President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media on July 30.
Pokrovsk is an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian Forces that supports their operations in Donetsk Oblast.
As Russian forces concentrate more of their recourses on the offensive in Donetsk Oblast, the situation in the area in the Pokrovsk direction remains "extremely challenging," Kyiv acknowledged.
Russian forces have been slowly but consistently gaining ground in Donetsk Oblast, and the front-line areas of Pokrovsk and Toretsk have borne the brunt of attacks in recent weeks.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
