The Russian leadership has order its troops to urgently capture the embattled city of Pokrovsk amid Ukraine’s successful counterattack in eastern Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
"The counteroffensive operation is underway. We believe it is very difficult, but very timely, and we consider it successful. We believe this operation has disrupted Russia's summer offensive campaign,” Zelenskiy said during a press conference. The Ukrainian leader explained that Ukraine’s counterattack has derailed Russia’s plans to occupy most of Donbas region by November. "They initially said by September, then postponed the deadline to November. This operation has definitely influenced the defence of Pokrovsk. Realising their heavy losses near Dobropillia, the Russians have now been ordered to take Pokrovsk urgently, at any cost," Zelenskiy said.
Speaking about Russia’s casualties, Zelenskiy revealed that in the past few days, Russia has been losing more than 100 soldiers daily, and in some cases, up to 200. In his words, heavy fighting is underway along the Novopavlivka front, located at the junction of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, with Ukrainian forces fully recaptured four villages. As winter approaches, he also said Ukraine is preparing contingency plans to secure its own gas infrastructure, which has faced heavy Russian bombardment.
“We have a Plan A and Plan B. Plan A relies on our own production. Plan B focuses on imports, and we know the required volumes, prices, and funding sources,” Zelenskiy said. The Ukrainian leader also revealed that long-range strieks with Ukraine's new missile and drones on energy infrastructure has crippled Russia's energy energy inrastructure and caused nationwide fuel shortage.
