Russians make significant gains on Pokrovsk front – ISW

Russian troops have reportedly made significant tactical gains on the Pokrovsk front amid reports that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from certain areas southeast of Pokrovsk. 

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Geo-located footage released on 27 August confirms that Russian forces have advanced over two kilometres from their previously known positions into north-western Novohrodivka (south-east of Pokrovsk), specifically along Dubinina Street.

This suggests that Russian forces are now also holding positions in the central part of the town.

Additional geo-located footage indicates that Russian forces have made minor gains in south-eastern Hrodivka (east of Pokrovsk and north-east of Novohrodivka) and have captured Kalynove (further south-east of Pokrovsk and south-east of Novohrodivka).

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 27 August:

• Russian forces have made significant tactical advances on the Pokrovsk front amid reports that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from select areas southeast of Pokrovsk.
• Russia's most combat-capable troops are currently sustaining Russian advances towards Pokrovsk, and Russia's offensive operations are emblematic of the wider Russian theory of victory in Ukraine, premised on seemingly indefinite grinding tactical advances. Russia's continuous and complete prioritisation of the Pokrovsk front will likely impact Russia's overall combat capabilities in Ukraine in the aftermath of any Pokrovsk scenario, especially as the Kremlin tries to balance gains in Pokrovsk with defending against the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast was in part an effort to preempt a Russian offensive operation into Sumy or Chernihiv oblasts and noted that the incursion is an aspect of Ukraine's wider efforts to achieve a just and lasting diplomatic solution to the war based on the principles of international law and the inviolability of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly attempted to advance into two areas of Belgorod Oblast on 27 August amid continued Ukrainian offensive operations in Kursk Oblast.
• Russian officials attempted to use International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi's visit to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) to falsely portray Ukraine as threatening a radiological incident, likely to undermine Western support for Ukraine by stoking unfounded fears about Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised India's commitment to ending the war in Ukraine to Russian leader Vladimir Putin following Modi's recent visit to Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Kreminna and Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Donetsk City.
• The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast has reportedly heightened willingness among Russian citizens to sign military service contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

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