The seizure of Selydove allows Russian forces to approach Pokrovsk, a key steel production centre, whereas the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been forced to pull all available equipment for defence, according to Ukrainian media.
Global media noted major Russian gains in the Pokrovsk area a few weeks ago. Russia’s group of troops “Centre” attempted to attack on several fronts simultaneously, including the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad coal agglomeration.
Russian forces advanced on Selydove to gain access to Hirnyk, forcing the AFU to build fortifications and hastily prepare for the defence of Pokrovsk. However, the 47th Brigade defending the area, exhausted and requiring rest, was withdrawn from the front, with some transferred to the Kursk region for the incursion.
Concentrations of Russian assault troops are reportedly approaching the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad line with numerical and firepower superiority and reserves for a continuous offensive. They are demolishing AFU defensive positions with bombs, equipped with planning and correction modules, and heavy artillery.
The fight for Selydove, which was home to about 20,000 people before the outbreak of war, had been going on for several weeks and entered a critical phase on 21 October. The 15th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine was responsible for the defence of the city. It included six battalions, a tank company and a brigade artillery unit.
Ukrainian media reported the advance of Russian forces in Kurakhove, Pokrovsk area, and the village of Bohoyavlenka, Vuhledar area. The AFU suffered a painful blow west of Vuhledar.
Anna Skorokhod, a member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), said that the number of desertions and unauthorised abandonment of positions exceeded 100,000 against the background of the ongoing Russia’s offensive in the east of the country. Ukrainian media shared footage of AFU soldiers detonating a high-rise building in Toretsk before retreating.
Unauthorised abandonment of the unit, desertion – I will not name the figure, I will say – more than 100 thousand. […] People ask me why [they], former workers […], now have to sit in a trench, whereas all the military, senior officers, are all in the rear. Why do we have between 10% and, at best, up to 15 % of the total army fighting?
Local media also report on the aggressive actions of the Territorial Recruitment Centres, which have stepped up forced mobilisation against the backdrop of frontline setbacks and mass desertion of soldiers. Ukrainian media shared footage of the work of military enlistment officers in the Volyn region and Kharkiv.
However, the TRC’s actions only discourage Ukrainian men from fighting, with mobilised citizens displaying low morale by leaving their positions.
