strategically important Ukrainian town in Russia’s sights

Maria Honcharenko is leaving the town where she has spent the majority of her life with just one small bag and her two tiny cats.

The 69-year-old is now taking counsel and getting ready to leave the city of Pokrovsk in east Ukraine, where he had firmly refused to go.

She sobs as she tells me, “When I hear a bang, my heart stops.” She has an antique push-button phone in her hand that is saved with emergency contacts.

Pokrovsk is located less than 8 km (4.9 miles) from the front line. The chief of the military administration in the city, Serhiy Dobryak, claims that in addition to using multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles to target the city, the Russians are also using guided bombs and artillery because the city is now within their weaponry’s range.

“Look what Russians did to us. I worked here for 30 years and now I am leaving everything behind,” she says, breaking down in tears.

Volunteers help Ms Honcharenko get on an evacuation bus. Trains no longer run here.

Pokrovsk is a vital center for transportation. Russian soldiers will cut off one of the region’s primary supply channels if it falls.

The front line will probably advance into Kramatorsk as a result, forcing Ukraine to withdraw from Chasiv Yar.

This would essentially mean that Ukraine would lose nearly the whole Donetsk area, which the Kremlin has been attempting to seize since the start of their invasion.

The Ukrainian military acknowledges that Moscow was not compelled to withdraw its forces from eastern Ukraine as a result of its incursion into the Kursk region of Russia.

Furthermore, some experts contend that although this action undoubtedly raised military morale, it also exposed the vital supply line to Russian attack.

Only ten kilometers from Pokrovsk, the settlement of Novohrodivka was purportedly taken over by Russia on Sunday. Although sources told the BBC that the Ukrainian military had withdrew from the area, Kyiv has not responded.

The evacuation bus soon fills to capacity. A mother boards with her five-year-old kid in tow.

It is their second evacuation. The first time it happened was in 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when they fled from a border town.

Moscow’s first priority is undoubtedly this metropolis. The chief of the military administration in Pokrovsk, Serhiy Dobryak, claims that Russia is winning the force ratio ten to one.

A statue of a woman is draped in rosary bead necklaces, with Ukrainian unit brigade flags draped on road signs behind it — Ukrainian units defending the area drape their brigade flags and crosses over road signs

Russia struck a substation in Pokrovsk during its most recent attack, knocking out power to half the city.

Water supply was also interrupted by the strikes.

The city is emptying out swiftly. There were still 48,000 residents here as of two months earlier. Half of them had already departed today.

It seems disturbingly quiet amid the bustling downtown with its stores and supermarkets. Most cafes, supermarkets, and banks are closed. Everyone has left the hospital.

Excavators are in the countryside, building new ditches outside the city.

The head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, claims that the army has managed to halt Russia’s assault on Pokrovsk.

Lt Col Oleh Demyanenko, a battalion commander of the 110th brigade, told the BBC that the front line on the northern flank of Russia’s assault on Pokrovsk had indeed been stabilised. However, Russian attacks are mostly focused on the southern flank, he says, where heavy battles are continuing.

One of the areas on that flank that Russians are trying to seize is Selidove, a small town south-east of Pokrovsk.

The BBC visited an artillery position of the 15th Brigade of the National Guard that defends this town. Relentless Russian attacks give them no respite.

“Prepare for action!” the unit commander Dmytro orders after receiving coordinates of a new target.

All crew members rush to an old American M-101 howitzer. This type of gun was used in World War Two.

Now Ukrainians fire it to stop Russian attacks.

Ukrainian commander Dmytro, of the 15th Brigade National Guard, stands next to a weapon wearing military fatigues. — Dmytro, 15th Brigade National Guard commander, says they must fire hundreds of rounds a day here to hold off the Russians

With a “Fire!” cry, the commander tugs on the rope. The noise level is overwhelming. There is smoke all over the rifle.

The 31-year-old Dmytro claims that the combat in his sector is really fierce.

“The enemy launches attacks in groups of up to 15 or even 60 people,” the speaker claimed. “We repel them with up to 200 bullets every day.”

Compared to previous winter, when the large guns were silent for the majority of the day, this is a significant change.

However, there is a greater chance of return fire the more they shell the Russian positions. They then withdraw to a dugout to await Russia’s counterattack following each round of gunfire.

And when they hear a loud thud in the distance, they go quiet. “A glide bomb,” one of the soldiers mutters.

It’s this weapon that they fear the most. It has a devastating effect and the gunners have nowhere to hide from it.

Dmytro gives an evasive answer when asked whether it would be more useful to use Ukrainian forces involved in the Kursk operation to defend the Donbas region instead. “Commanders have a better view to make strategic decisions,” he said.

Two Ukrainian soldiers wearing helmets and carrying guns look into the camera lens — If Pokrovsk falls, Ukraine will lose a vital transportation hub in the east

The front line here can move quickly. Sometimes it can be a total surprise for Ukrainian forces.

In the village of Komyshivka, 15 km west of Selidove, a group of seven soldiers from the 68th Brigade began their shift at the forward position last month. Their mission was to thwart any penetration attempts by Russian forces. But the Russian army had them surrounded the following day.

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Three days later, they were rescued because of extraordinarily courageous drivers and the carelessness of Russian forces.

The evacuation bus carrying Ms. Honcharenko is completely occupied back in Pokrovsk. The bridge on the way out of town is damaged by the Russian bombardment, so they have to find a different path. People wave through the windows and wipe away their tears as the bus moves.

For Maria Honcharenko, this is a scary journey full of uncertainties. But she knows one thing – it will be safer in her new home than remaining at the front line.