Russian troops advance on Pokrovsk, capture second Ukrainian town

Russia's Defense Ministry said its troops had captured Hrodivka, a town on the road to Pokrovsk, which Ukrainian generals said was the main target.

Russian forces entered Hrodivka in early September. The capture of the town came just five days after the fall of Vuhledar on the Donetsk-Zaporizhia border.

Ukrainian artillery fires a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled gun at Russian troops. Photo: RFE

Russia’s air campaign is also in full swing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia dropped 800 glide bombs and sent nearly 400 drones and 20 missiles into Ukraine last week.

"This daily air attack can be stopped. This requires the unity of allies and long-range weapons," Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Mr Zelenskyy has asked allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to attack Russian airfields from which Tupolev-95 glide bombers take off. Russia has warned of dire consequences if the West allows Ukraine to strike hundreds of kilometres inside Russia.

Despite the capture of Hrodivka, Russia has suffered several setbacks. Vitaly Sarantsev, a spokesman for the northern Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv, said on October 6 that a major mechanized attack early last week on the town of Vovchansk (Kharkiv Oblast) had left more Russian servicemen dead than wounded.

Russia-Ukraine war map. Graphic photo: AJ

"The enemy used a large number of troops and armored vehicles, supported by two tanks, to try to attack our positions," Mr. Sarantsev said.

"They tried to enter the (industrial) factory but were fired back by our artillery and FPV drones," he said.

"For the first time, the number of dead exceeded the number of wounded. This shows that the intensity of the battle left the enemy no time to withdraw or bring back the wounded. They all died in this attack."

Ngoc Anh (according to Al Jazeera)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/quan-doi-nga-tien-ve-pokrovsk-chiem-thi-tran-thu-hai-cua-ukraine-trong-mot-tuan-post316159.html