By Russian forces launched a series of attacks on Thursday targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine, cutting off power and water supplies to key areas near the front lines as Moscow seeks to advance its positions in the eastern Donbas region.
In the eastern town of Pokrovsk, a filtering station ceased operations due to intense fighting, leaving the town without water. Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin urged civilians to evacuate, warning that the situation was dire and unlikely to improve soon. The town, strategically located at the intersection of important roads and a rail line in the Donetsk region, also lost electricity and gas supplies essential for cooking and heating.
The attacks on Pokrovsk come as Russian forces attempt to complete their capture of the Donbas region. Recent open-source intelligence reports from Ukraine’s Deep State analysts indicate that while Russian momentum has slowed near Pokrovsk, Moscow’s troops have made progress south of the town, approaching nearby Ukrainsk.
Ukraine’s military reported that their forces on the Kurakhiv front, which includes Ukrainsk, continued to repel Russian advances, with Moscow’s troops attempting to breach Kyiv’s defensive lines 23 times in the past day. Some Russian military bloggers claimed that Moscow’s forces had nearly taken control of Ukrainsk, though these reports could not be independently verified.
In northern Ukraine, the city of Konotop in the Sumy region suffered significant damage from an overnight Russian drone attack. Local officials reported at least 14 people were injured in the assault, which severely damaged energy infrastructure and cut power to the settlement. Konotop, with a pre-war population of about 83,000, had been used by Ukrainian forces as a staging ground for their recent cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin described the power system as in critical condition, with energy workers struggling to restore electricity to the hospital and water supply system. The attack on Konotop was part of a larger Russian offensive involving 64 drones, of which the Ukrainian air force claimed to have shot down 44 over nine different regions.
These infrastructure attacks underscore the critical juncture of the war, now in its third year. The United States has reported that Iran has supplied hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia, marking a significant escalation in the conflict. Moscow, in turn, has warned the West against approving deep strikes into Russian territory with Western weapons, threatening to respond.
Despite being heavily outgunned and lacking a large arsenal of long-range missiles, Ukraine has attempted to retaliate by launching hundreds of drones at Russian targets. However, the scale and frequency of Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure have become almost nightly occurrences since the invasion began in February 2022.
As the conflict continues to evolve, both sides are attempting to gain strategic advantages. Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region last month aimed to seize initiative and divert Russian forces from the east. However, Russia has maintained offensive pressure in the Donbas, with a Russian commander claiming to have retaken control of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region in a counterattack.
The ongoing attacks on infrastructure and the shifting battle lines highlight the complex and fluid nature of the conflict, with both sides seeking to gain tactical advantages while inflicting strategic damage on their opponent’s capabilities and resources.
Source: REUTERS
