Key town in eastern Ukraine in Russia’s sights

The town of Pokrovsk plays an important role as a logistics hub used by Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region. It has an important railway station and is located at the crossroads of several important routes.

Russian troops have been trying to capture the town for months, but their advance has accelerated this month and are now said to be less than 10km (6 miles) away.

Before the war, Pokrovrsk was home to about 69,000 residents, many of whom worked in coal mining, metallurgy, and machine building.

Thousands have fled in recent months as Russian troops advanced, but now families with children are being ordered to leave too. Civilians have just a week or two to get out, Serhiy Dobriak warned last Monday.

Ukraine hoped that by seizing territory in Russia’s Kursk region it could divert Russian troops from their eastward advance, but that did not happen. If anything, the Russian offensive in Pokrovsk and Toretsk further to the northeast intensified.

“Pokrovsk is a very important center, a defensive center. If we lose Pokrovsk, the entire front line will collapse,” military expert Mykhaylo Zhyrokhov warned.

Ukraine relies on the town’s rail and road infrastructure to deliver supplies and reinforcements to troops on the eastern frontline, as well as to evacuate the wounded.

The loss of Pokrovsk to the Russian army means that these important military tasks will become much more complicated.

It would also increase the risk to other strategically important towns, such as Chasiv Yar, which sits on a height that commands control over a wider area.

“If they cut off our logistics, Chasiv Yar will be destroyed,” said analyst Pavlo Narozhny. “It will only be a matter of time before we have to retreat because we will not be able to supply our fighters there.”

Pokrovsk has always served as an important railway hub serving the needs of the heavily industrialized eastern region of Ukraine.

In fact, it was built around a station that was built in the late 19th century.

It became known as the coal mining capital of Ukraine after the capture of Donetsk in 2014, the main city of Donbas, meaning “Donetsk coal basin”.

Pokrovsk is home to Ukraine’s largest coking coal producer. It is important for the metallurgical industry, which plays a key role in the country’s economy.

Metals were Ukraine’s main export before Russia’s full-scale invasion two and a half years ago, accounting for 23 percent of total merchandise exports.

Their export value has now fallen to a quarter of that level because the country’s industry has been devastated by the war.

A Ukrainian soldier stationed in Pokrovsk told the BBC’s Ukrainecast podcast that the large number of industrial buildings in Pokrovsk and nearby towns like Myrnohrad were useful for Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

“They will have a very big challenge to capture this area because it is an industrialized area with quite important defense lines,” said the soldier identified as Ostap.

Asked about the potential consequences of Pokrovsk’s fall, he said: “These cities would be completely destroyed, with a lot of death and a lot of suffering.”

“There will be more cities after that, so I really hope that we can stop them in the suburbs of Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”

The capture of Pokrovsk also had symbolic significance.

The Kremlin’s media machine will use the event to offset the confusion over Ukraine’s seizure of territory in Russia’s Kusk border region.

It would also be a major step towards occupying the entire Donetsk region of Ukraine, which Russia has declared part of its territory by September 2022.