President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has faced a wave of harsh criticism from the military, lawmakers and military analysts over the rapid advance of the Russian army in eastern Ukraine. This is stated in an article by Christopher Miller in the Financial Times, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
This advance comes against the backdrop of a bold invasion of the Kursk region of Russia by Ukrainian forces, which began on 6 August 2024. Initially, many Ukrainians celebrated the offensive, hoping that it would force Moscow to shift resources to a new front and change the course of the war in Ukraine’s favour. However, the breakthrough of the front line in the strategically important Donetsk region has caused a backlash against the leadership in Kyiv, the journalist argues.
Critics argue that Ukraine’s position has been weakened by the redeployment of thousands of experienced Ukrainian soldiers for the Kursk operation. Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, seizing several surrounding towns this week and forcing undermanned Ukrainian units to retreat from prepared defensive positions.
According to the Ukrainian analytical group Frontelligence Insight, Pokrovsk is one of two key railway and road junctions in Donetsk region, and its loss would threaten the entire logistics of the region for the Ukrainian army. Satellite imagery analysed by the Finnish group Black Bird shows that Russian forces are now only 8km from Pokrovsk.
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko described the situation on the eastern outskirts of Pokrovsk as a “complete defensive failure”. He stressed that the problem is not with the soldiers, but with those who make decisions for these soldiers, pointing to the Ukrainian leadership.
Several soldiers in the area expressed concern about the defences around Pokrovsk. One of them, Zhenya from the 93rd Mechanised Brigade, described the situation as follows:
“Honestly, I have never seen anything like this. Everything is falling apart so fast. Pokrovsk will fall much faster than Bakhmut.”
Ukrainian forces retreated this week from Novohrodivka, 8 km southeast of Pokrovsk. The Centre for Defence Strategies (CDS), a Kyiv-based security think tank, said the retreat indicates a lack of defence resources, despite the importance of Pokrovsk as a logistical hub.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, said on Thursday that he had visited the Pokrovsk area and was working to “strengthen the defence of our troops in the most difficult areas of the front, provide brigades with sufficient ammunition and other logistical means”.
And President Zelenskyy, during a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, described the situation on the frontline near Pokrovsk as “extremely difficult”, but claimed that the Russian offensive in the area had slowed down after the Ukrainian advance in Kursk. However, according to several military analysts, including the Ukrainian group Deep State, Russian forces have been advancing faster in Donbas since 6 August than in previous months.
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Rob Lee, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, attributed the Russian successes to a lack of experienced Ukrainian infantry and the diversion of resources to the Kursk offensive.
“Ukraine has sent reserves to Kursk, leaving fewer options to fill the gaps elsewhere. Some of the more experienced brigades have been replaced by newer, less experienced units,” Lee said,
– lee said.
Soldiers mobilised this summer have been sent into battle with minimal training, the article said.
“They freeze up… they don’t know what to do in real combat… they turn around and run away at the first explosion,”
– said a lieutenant whose troops are on the front line near Pokrovsk.
Soldiers in artillery units near Pokrovsk also highlighted the shortage of shells and the serious firepower gap with Russian forces.
“We are running out of shells. We simply do not have enough of them,”
– said the artillery commander, noting that many resources have been redirected north to Kursk.
Stanislav Aseyev, a Ukrainian journalist and soldier currently on the eastern front, warned of the possible “destruction of the entire southern group of troops in the region, not just Pokrovsk”. He attributed this to “a complex of internal reasons: from planting flowers instead of fortifications to the lack of understanding on the part of the high command of the problems that are obvious to every soldier in the trenches”.
Frontelligence notes that the Ukrainian leadership can still strengthen the front line by deploying new brigades or moving forces from other areas. However, if Pokrovsk falls, it could open the way for Russian forces to advance towards Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth largest city.