Inside Pokrovsk, the vital Ukrainian town in Russia's sights

Fleeing the municipality she has lived successful astir of her life, Maria Honcharenko is taking conscionable 1 tiny bag, and her 2 tiny kittens.

After stubbornly staying connected successful the eastbound Ukrainian metropolis of Pokrovsk, the 69-year-old is present heeding proposal and preparing to leave.

“My bosom stops erstwhile I perceive a bang,” she tells me, crying. She’s holding an aged push-button telephone wherever exigency contacts are saved.

The beforehand enactment is little than 8km (4.9 miles) from Pokrovsk. Serhiy Dobryak, the caput of the city’s subject administration, says that Russians people the metropolis not conscionable with ballistic missiles and aggregate rocket launchers - they besides present onslaught with guided bombs and adjacent artillery, arsenic the metropolis is present wrong the scope of those weapons too.

“Look what Russians did to us. I worked present for 30 years and present I americium leaving everything behind,” she says, breaking down successful tears.

Volunteers assistance Ms Honcharenko to get connected an evacuation bus. Trains nary longer tally here.

Pokrovsk is simply a cardinal proscription hub. If it falls, past Russian forces volition chopped disconnected 1 of the main proviso routes successful the region. This volition apt unit Ukraine to retreat from Chasiv Yar and the beforehand enactment volition determination person to Kramatorsk.

For Ukraine, this would efficaciously mean the nonaccomplishment of astir the full Donetsk region, which the Kremlin has fought to seizure since the opening of their invasion.

The Ukrainian subject admits that its incursion into Russia’s Kursk portion failed to unit Moscow to divert its troops from eastbound Ukraine.

And immoderate observers reason that this move, which surely helped to boost morale among the soldiers, near the strategical proviso way susceptible to Russian attacks.

On Sunday, Russia claimed to person taken power of the colony of Novohrodivka, conscionable 10km from Pokrovsk. Kyiv has not commented but sources told the BBC that Ukrainian forces person retreated from there.

The abstraction connected the evacuation autobus rapidly fills up. A pistillate with a five-year aged girl climbs connected board.

This is their 2nd evacuation. The archetypal clip it was successful 2022 erstwhile they fled from a borderline municipality aft Russia launched its full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

This metropolis is intelligibly Moscow’s apical priority. According to Serhiy Dobryak, the caput of Pokrovsk’s subject administration, the ratio of forces warring successful that absorption is 10 to 1 successful Russia’s favour.

During its latest attack, Russia deed a substation successful Pokrovsk, leaving fractional the metropolis without power. The strikes besides disrupted h2o supplies.

The metropolis is rapidly becoming deserted. Just 2 months ago, 48,000 radical were inactive surviving here. Today fractional of them person already left.

The bustling downtown with shops and supermarkets is eerily quiet. Banks, supermarkets and astir cafes are closed. The infirmary has been evacuated.

Outside the city, excavators are digging caller trenches successful the fields.

However, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief says that the service has managed to halt the Russian advancement towards Pokrovsk.

Lt Col Oleh Dehtyarenko, a battalion commandant of the 110th brigade, told the BBC that the beforehand enactment connected the bluish flank of Russia’s battle connected Pokrovsk had so been stabilised. However, Russian attacks are mostly focused connected the confederate flank, helium says, wherever dense battles are continuing.

One of the areas connected that flank that Russians are trying to prehend is Selidove, a tiny municipality south-east of Pokrovsk.

The BBC visited an artillery presumption of the 15th Brigade of the National Guard that support this town. Relentless Russian attacks springiness them nary respite.

“Prepare for action!” the portion commandant Dmytro orders aft receiving coordinates of a caller target.

All unit members unreserved to an aged American M-101 howitzer. This benignant of weapon was utilized successful World War Two. Now Ukrainians occurrence it to halt Russian attacks.

The commandant shouts “Fire!” and pulls the rope. The detonation is deafening. The weapon is covered with smoke.

The warring successful his assemblage is precise intense, says 31-year-old Dmytro.

“The force attacks successful groups of up to 15 people, sometimes up to 60,” helium said. “We occurrence up to 200 rounds a time [to repel them].”

This is simply a large alteration to past wintertime erstwhile large guns stayed soundless for astir of the day.

But the much they ammunition the Russian positions, the greater the hazard of instrumentality fire. So, aft each bid of rounds, they caput to a dugout to hold retired Russia’s antagonistic barrage.

And erstwhile they perceive a large thud successful the distance, they spell quiet. “A glide bomb,” 1 of the soldiers mutters. It’s this limb that they fearfulness the most. It has a devastating effect and the gunners person obscurity to fell from it.

Dmytro gives an evasive reply erstwhile asked whether it would beryllium much utile to usage Ukrainian forces progressive successful the Kursk cognition to support the Donbas portion instead. “Commanders person a amended presumption to marque strategical decisions,” helium said.

The beforehand enactment present tin determination quickly. Sometimes it tin beryllium a full astonishment for Ukrainian forces.

Last month, a radical of 7 soldiers of the 68th Brigade started their displacement astatine the guardant presumption successful the colony of Komyshivka, 15km westbound of Selidove. Their task was to halt immoderate attempts of Russian forces to interruption through. The adjacent day, however, they were encircled by the Russian forces.

Thanks to highly brave drivers and the negligence of Russian soldiers, they were evacuated 3 days later.

Back successful Pokrovsk, the evacuation autobus with Ms Honcharenko connected committee is full. They person to instrumentality a caller way arsenic the span connected the mode retired of municipality is damaged by the Russian strikes. As the autobus starts moving, radical question done the windows and hitch their tears away.

For Maria Honcharenko, this is simply a scary travel afloat of uncertainties. But she knows 1 happening – it volition beryllium safer successful her caller location than remaining astatine the beforehand line.