The Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast may fall in December under pressure from Russian forces, said Gert Kaju, Head of Defence Readiness Department of the Estonian Ministry of Defence.

Source: Estonian public broadcaster ERR, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "The main direction of the offensive remains Donetsk Oblast and the area of the city of Pokrovsk. Both Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are essentially under direct or indirect control of Russian forces. Therefore, it is highly likely that both settlements will fall under Russian control in December."

Details: Kaju said the Russians have also made some progress in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, around 100 km southwest of Pokrovsk, so pressure in this area remains extremely high.

"In addition, Russia has once again activated various types of weaponry for air attacks, including drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, in large-scale strikes on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure across the country," he said.

Assessing the overall frontline situation, Kaju noted that the Russians are not advancing very quickly.

"Despite this, they still seize territory bit by bit. One of their tactics to achieve this limited success is attacking the supply lines of Ukrainian frontline units so that the troops fighting at the front are supplied as poorly or as irregularly as possible. This reduces both morale and overall combat capability. This is how the Russian side tries to succeed," the military official explained.

At the same time, Kaju noted that Ukraine, for its part, is focusing on attacks on various oil refineries, power plants and different types of early warning and air defence systems on Russian territory.

"To sum it up, one can say that all current military actions along the front line are quite similar to what has been happening here over recent months. Neither side has achieved significant progress. New territory is captured, then lost again, then captured by the other side. So there is constant capturing and attacking of territory. And this will likely continue for some time."

The official also pointed out that Russia recently lost three of its aircraft in areas close to the front line.

"I mean manned aircraft – fighter jets and helicopters. In addition, about six helicopters and fighter jets have crashed for various reasons without any external impact. So Russian forces continue to suffer losses in the airspace for various reasons, and ultimately this is also in a certain way beneficial for us," Kaju concluded.

Background:

• Earlier, Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Head of the Intelligence Centre of the Estonian Defence Forces, said that Ukraine would be able to prevent the fall of Pokrovsk for another week or two, but there was a risk of a Russian breakthrough in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
• He also said that during the upcoming winter period, Russia would intensify strikes on Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure, seeking to inflict maximum damage on the civilian population, and that Russia currently has more resources for this than before.

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