Ukrainian Armed Forces may retreat from Pokrovsk by the end of the year - Estonian intelligence

Currently, the Russian occupation forces hold the initiative on the battlefield in Ukraine, so it is likely that by the end of the year the Armed Forces will be forced to withdraw from Pokrovsk. This was stated  by Lieutenant Colonel Janek Kesselmann, deputy commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, ERR reports , UNN writes . 

Details

The tactical initiative is still in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Over the past week, there has been an average of about 167 attacks per day, with almost 50% of these attacks concentrated in the Donetsk sector

According to him, in the direction of the town of Pokrovsk, Russia has advanced by 1-2 km over the past week. In total, the Russians have another 5-7 km to go to the approaches to the city.

This suggests that if such intensity continues, it is likely that by the end of this year the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be forced to retreat from Pokrovsk and take up positions a little deeper

Addendum

At the same time, the deputy commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center said that Russia continues to have problems recruiting new people into the armed forces.

In particular, he said that since  April 2024, the one-time regional payment for signing a military service contract has increased from 5,000 euros to 20,000 euros, in rubles.

russia is unlikely to be able to gather a large resource that will affect the strategic one, but it will still be able to compensate for losses in personnel

Recall

On October 2, the Khortytsia military unit reported that the higher command had authorized the withdrawal of units from Vuhledar to "preserve personnel and military equipment"