Russian troops close in on key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk amid ongoing incursion

FRANCE 24

August 16, 2024 at 1:49 a.m.·1 min read

The Russian army closed in on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Friday, a key logistics hub through which supplies are transported to troops and towns on the eastern front, while Kyiv urged civilians living there to speed up evacuations. In the meantime, Ukraine said its forces have continued advancing in Russia's Kursk region where it launched an incursion 11 days ago. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

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Summary:

Ukrainian officials in the eastern city of Pokrovsk urged civilians to evacuate as fast as possible due to Russian troops “advancing at a fast pace”. The city lies on the intersection of a key road that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front. It has long been a target for the Russian army.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces captured Sergiivka, a frontline village some 15 kilometres away from the Ukrainian-held logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev claimed on Friday that the US-led NATO military alliance and "Western special services" were directly involved in the planning of Ukraine's attack on Russia's Kursk region. The US has maintained it had not received advance notice of the attack.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

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