Russia focuses on seizing Ukraine’s Pokrovsk amid reports of heavy losses

Russian forces have been focusing their assaults on the town of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s east, which is seen as a gateway to heavily fortified areas still in Ukrainian hands in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian commanders reported a large buildup of Russian forces in an attempt to take the town, which has resisted for a year. Russian forces have shifted tactics, using heavy armor and vehicles instead of infantry attacks. Ukraine claimed that Russia lost 1,670 men in 24 hours, bringing the total estimated wartime losses to 834,670 soldiers. Ukraine has been targeting Russian logistics with drone strikes, hitting key factories and warehouses. European allies, including France, have pledged military and financial aid to Ukraine. A spat between Ukraine and NATO ally Slovakia escalated when Slovak premier Robert Fico called Ukrainian President Zelenskyy “an enemy of Slovakia.”

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