The front line in eastern Ukraine is increasingly approaching Pokrovsk. The The mining town had therefore already begun evacuating the remaining residents some time ago. However, the evacuation by train was stopped today and will be carried out from another location (more on this in our news of the day).
Why the capture of the city is so important for Russiathe news agency Reuters recently wrote. (Source here). And this is mainly due to its strategic location. Pokrovsk is located on a road through which the Ukrainian military supplies contested Ukrainian outposts such as Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.
Control of the city known as the “Gateway to Donetsk” would therefore seriously disrupt Ukraine’s supply lines along the Eastern Front. This would make it much more difficult for Ukrainian troops to hold areas on both sides of Pokrovsk.
And that could give Russia an advantage to capture the long-targeted city of Chasiv Yar, which is located at a higher altitude. All this with the main goal of one day bringing the entire Donetsk region under Russian control.
In mid-August, 53,000 people still lived in the city and its surroundings. At that time, the governor had ordered the evacuation of children from the region. But as we also reported here, some parents had hidden their children to avoid this forced evacuation.
The most important news of the day:
- The Ukrainian parliament has dismissed Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. On Wednesday, he had already submitted his resignation as part of a government reshuffle. His successor is the previous deputy Andriy Sybiga. According to local media, 258 MPs voted for Sybiga. More here.
- Following a fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a damaged cooling tower will probably have to be demolished, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “This large building will no longer be usable in the future,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi during a visit to the nuclear power plant. More here.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that he wants to “support” the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the US presidential election. US President Joe Biden has recommended his voters to support Harris – “so we will support her too,” Putin said. More here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is increasingly asking Western partners for suitable weapons systems so that Kyiv’s troops can better defend themselves. According to a media report, Zelenskyj now wants to come to Germany on Friday and ask the so-called Ramstein Contact Group for further support. More here.
- The United States has imposed sanctions on officials at the Russian state broadcaster RT, whom it accuses of attempting to interfere in this year’s US presidential election. The sanctions affect ten responsible persons and two organizations, the Ministry of Finance announced. More here.
- In view of the approaching Russian troops, Ukraine has stopped evacuations by train from the front-line town of Pokrovsk in the east of the country. “Now the departure station is Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region due to the difficult security situation”, the governor of the Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said on Telegram. More in our news blog.
After a major prisoner exchange between Russia and the USA and other Western states, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin wants to release more Russian prisoners. Russia will always help its citizens, including abroad, Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. - The Ukrainian Air Force claims to have shot down 60 of the 78 drones launched by Russia during the night. Russia also used an Iskander-M missile, the Air Force announced via the Telegram short message service. It remains unclear whether the missile was also intercepted.
- According to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces have shelled a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka. One person was killed and three others injured in the attack, the prosecutor’s office said. According to investigators in the Donetsk region, a multiple rocket launcher was used.
