The battle-hardened Ukrainian soldiers in Pokrovsk are facing a lot of pressure, including a serious shortage of troops and having to coordinate with many newly formed infantry units that lack experience and even lack commanders, AP reported.
The deputy commander of the unit, Afer, lamented that he had to shoulder many tasks that were normally assigned to new recruits. Afer said that the front line was always weakened because young soldiers abandoned their positions and did not know how to control and maintain the battlefield.
According to Afer, his battalion is “overloaded” because it has to monitor an additional 9 square kilometers instead of the 2 square kilometers assigned to it. In addition, Afer’s unit also lacks unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with only half of the number needed.
Afer said that young soldiers are not lacking in ability but they are not well prepared for modern warfare.
Afer's battalion had virtually no reserves, forcing the infantry to hold the front line for weeks on end. Afer insisted that the Russians outnumbered them 20 to one.
According to AP, Ukraine's logistics lines in Pokrovsk are under direct threat as Russian forces have now taken control of key heights around the area thanks to the continuous deployment of UAVs. This allows Moscow to advance up to 30 km into Kiev's defenses.
An unnamed Ukrainian commander on the Pokrovsk flank said Russian UAVs had taken control of the Pokrovsk-Pavlohrad-Dnipro highway, forcing traffic in the area to operate at only 10 percent capacity to ensure safety. The Myrnohrad-Kostyantynivka road was also under Russian fire, according to the commander.
This means that military vehicles, including armored vehicles, tanks and pickup trucks, are forced to move across open fields to transport fuel, food, ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers even in bad weather conditions to avoid detection.
