If Russian forces manage to capture Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, their next targets could be cities such as Chasov Yar, as well as access to Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka.
This was stated by the head of the Council of Reserves of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ivan Tymochko, reports URA-Inform, citing the YouTube channel RBC-Ukraine.
“The Russians are not going to reduce the pressure in this direction,” Tymochko emphasized.
According to him, the question of whether Russian troops will be able to capture Pokrovsk at all or at least get closer to it remains open. However, one should not expect that they will decide to suspend operations after this to regroup – this is a misleading idea.
“We have already seen this in the example of Avdiivka and Ocheretino… Unfortunately, they do not stop,” Tymochko noted.
He also added that the Russians will probably try to maintain a high intensity of military operations in this direction.
“If we talk about possible risks, then the enemy has been planning to seize Chasov Yar for a long time. Military operations there have been going on for almost a year. It is important to understand that the Donetsk region is the only region where Russian forces still have an advantage at the tactical level. They were able to concentrate so many troops there that this creates some potential for advancement,” Timochko explained.
It is also worth mentioning that Shmygal spoke about unpleasant changes in the tactics of shelling by the Russian Federation.