Russia Heavy fighting around Pokrovsk continues
Russian attackers and Ukrainian defenders have once again engaged in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine.
27.01.2025, 05:18
SDA
A total of 153 Russian attacks were registered on various sections of the front over the course of the day, the General Staff in Kiev announced in its evening situation report. The focus of the fighting was once again around the small town of Pokrovsk on the edge of the Donbass.
In view of the difficult situation, the Ukrainian units fighting around the Donbass were given a new commander. President Volodymyr Zelenskyi appointed the previous army commander, General Mykhailo Drapatyi, as the new leader of the "Chortitsya" grouping deployed there. "At the same time, Drapatyi retains command of the land forces, the largest part of our armed forces, which will help to combine the army's combat operations with appropriate training of the brigades," said Zelenskyi in his evening video address.
The previous commander Andriy Hnatov was transferred to the General Staff. Recently, there had been repeated reports from the Pokrovsk region of Ukrainian soldiers deserting, as many had lost confidence in the military leadership due to the frequent setbacks.
Numerous attacks against Ukrainian defense lines
During the course of the day, Russian units with artillery support launched 70 attacks at various points against the Ukrainian defense lines around Pokrovsk. The attacks were repelled, according to reports. The information could not be independently confirmed. According to Russia, the city is already encircled from three sides.
According to official information, at least one person was killed and four others seriously injured in Russian artillery attacks. One woman died in Pokrovsk and four people were injured when shells hit residential buildings in Konstantinovka, the regional military administrator Vadim Filashkin announced on Telegram.
According to Ukrainian strategy expert Andriy Ryzhenko, the Russian military continued their operational actions on the fronts around Donbass almost according to plan. "They are particularly interested in Pokrovsk, which is an economic target," Ryzhenko said on the radio. "It is known that there are several coal shafts there." The conquest of the city is therefore important for Russia from an economic point of view.
Kiev: Warehouse with drone warheads attacked in Russia
According to reports from Kiev, Ukraine attacked a depot with drone warheads on Russian territory using combat drones. Following the attack on the building in Oryol in central Russia, a powerful secondary explosion was registered, the General Staff in Kiev announced on Facebook. Around 200 so-called Shahed kamikaze drones were put out of action, it said.
The information from Kiev could not be independently verified. There was no explanation from the Russian side. Oryol is located almost 350 kilometers southwest of Moscow.
For some time now, the Ukrainian armed forces have been attacking military bases, refineries and ammunition depots on Russian territory with missiles and long-range drones in order to impede the supply of Russia's armed forces deployed in Ukraine.
Kiev has recently developed its own long-range drones that can attack targets far inside Russia. The cruise missiles supplied by the West are only used sporadically against targets in Russia due to low stocks. Selensky expressed his satisfaction with the effectiveness of the new drones in the Ukrainian arsenal: "Everyone can see their effectiveness - how our weapons are bringing the war back to Russia and how Russia's war potential is decreasing."
Russia sends new drones towards Ukraine
On Sunday evening, the Russian military again launched large swarms of drones towards Ukraine. The groups of unmanned aircraft were spotted by Ukrainian air defenses in various regions - in Kherson in the south, Kharkiv in the east and Poltava in central Ukraine. According to the local military administration, enemy drones were also registered in the Kiev region.
