Forbes: Ukraine fields new Leopard tanks and Caesar howitzers against 70,000 Russians in battle for Pokrovsk

Russia, with approximately 70,000 troops, led by the 90th Guards Tank Division, is beginning to move on Pokrovsk, a vital transportation hub in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, Forbes reports. Russian units are now positioned just four miles from the city, while simultaneously establishing defensive lines to the south to prevent Ukrainian reinforcement efforts.

The offensive is part of Moscow’s intensified push to fully occupy Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts before potential peace talks following Donald Trump’s return to power in the US. Russian forces appear to be accelerating their operations ahead of the presidential inauguration in January.

“All up and down the 800-mile front line in western Russia and northern, eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian troops are attacking. In Kursk Oblast in western Russia, the attacks have their own purpose. Elsewhere, they may be tangentially related to the coming battle for Pokrovsk,” writes Forbes defense correspondent David Axe.

The Ukrainian garrison, consisting of fewer than a dozen brigades with no more than 2,000 troops each, has received crucial reinforcement from the newly formed 155th Mechanized Brigade. The brigade is equipped with German Leopard 2 tanks and French Caesar howitzers and has recently completed its training in France and Poland.

Pokrovsk, which had 60,000 residents before Russia’s 2022 invasion, now stands nearly empty except for military personnel.

“There is an unpleasant silence in the city… the calm before the storm,” reported volunteer fighter Denys Khrystov.

Ukrainian forces are expected to withdraw their Donetsk Operational Tactical Group from a nearby salient to consolidate their defensive positions. Military analysts anticipate one final Russian maneuver north of Pokrovsk to complete a partial encirclement before the main battle begins.

The outcome of this battle could prove decisive in this phase of the war, which has already resulted in over a million casualties, predominantly Russian.

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