Zelenskyy: Situation in Pokrovsk is difficult, 170,000 Russian troops amassed in this area

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the situation in Pokrovsk, where Russian forces are on the offensive, is difficult, with 170,000 Russian troops concentrated in the area.

Source: Zelenskyy at a briefing on 31 October

Quote: "The situation in Pokrovsk is difficult… You know that 170,000 occupiers are concentrated in that area. That's a huge number. And this morning I spoke with the commander-in-chief – there is no change in Pokrovsk.

Undoubtedly, the situation with the enemy is tense on all sides there. Do you remember the situation with the Kursk operation? Do you remember how it was reported in the media? There was a lot of talk. People were saying we had 5,000 or 8,000 encircled. Which was a lie."

Details: Zelenskyy said the Armed Forces of Ukraine are continuing to destroy Russian forces in this area.

At the same time, there is a "serious battle" going on for Pokrovsk, and the Russian leadership has ordered its troops to "take the city".

Quote from Zelenskyy: "They will fight for it [Pokrovsk – ed.] as hard as they can. Putin says he will visit Pokrovsk. We would be delighted if he came to Pokrovsk. Everyone would applaud him. We all understand how that will end."

Details: Zelenskyy said there is conflicting information about Pokrovsk and that he has seen numerous differing maps of the situation in the area.

Vasyl Maliuk, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, noted that the Russians have been claiming they will soon capture Pokrovsk for over a year, yet in that time they have advanced only 7 km: "They have lost tens of thousands of soldiers, not to mention the wounded. But today, everyone has joined forces there. The president [Putin – ed.] is telling you how powerful their group is, but they are held back and crushed every day." [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Read more: How Pokrovsk is imperceptibly falling: five observations by Ukrainska Pravda

Background:

• On 26 October, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Russians had concentrated their main assault group against Pokrovsk.
• Ukrainska Pravda reported on 24 October that there were at least 250 Russian troops in Pokrovsk, engaging in firefights and killing Ukrainian soldiers, particularly drone operators, at their positions; that logistics into the city were fully controlled by Russian drones, forcing Ukrainian soldiers to walk 10-15 km to reach their positions; and that Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad were at risk of encirclement.
• DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts, reported that Russian forces continue to infiltrate Pokrovsk, gradually increasing their infantry presence and expanding sabotage and reconnaissance activities within the city.
• The 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine's Air Assault Forces reported on 29 October that Russia has deployed about 11,000 troops in an effort to encircle Pokrovsk.

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