Zelenskyy says Russia deploys 170,000 troops for Donetsk push
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently claimed that Russian forces are making notable advances on the battlefield, although their progress has been slow and costly in terms of both troops and weapons.
Russia has deployed around 170,000 troops in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region where they are trying to capture the stronghold of Pokrovsk in a major push for battlefield victory, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday, News.Az reports, citing Euronews.
"The situation in Pokrovsk is difficult," Zelenskyy said, while also rejecting recent Russian claims that the devastated city is surrounded after more than a year of fighting.
He acknowledged that some Russian units had infiltrated the city, but insisted that Ukrainian defenders are weeding them out.
"There are Russians in Pokrovsk," Zelenskyy told a media briefing in Kyiv. "They are being destroyed, gradually destroyed, because, well, we need to preserve our personnel."
In previous sieges during the almost four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine has pulled out of some areas to avoid losing troops. Ukrainian forces are desperately short-handed against Russia's bigger army.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently claimed that Russian forces are making significant advances on the battlefield, though their progress has been slow and costly in troops and weapons.
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