LONDON, November 7. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces are about to lose control of the city of Krasnoarmeisk (called Pokrovsk in Ukraine), which would be "a wake-up call" for Kiev, The Economist writes.
"Now they are battling for position to extract their forces, some trapped in pockets. The loss of Pokrovsk, though long anticipated, would be a significant blow. Worse could come later: the city is a crossroads that offers Russia a base for further advances," the magazine notes.
The Economist points out that "things do not look much better" in the nearby city of Dimitrov (called Mirnograd in Ukraine), "where Ukrainian forces risk being encircled."
"Ukraine suffers from a systemic malaise of poor planning and paralysis in the face of bad news. Military and political bosses have failed to start building new underground fortifications in response to Russia’s war of mass and drones. Pokrovsk is not the end of the story, but should be a wake-up call," The Economist remarks.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on November 4 that Russian forces had cleared 35 buildings in Krasnoarmeisk of Ukrainian troops. Military expert Andrey Marochko said that the Russian army was about two kilometers from "completely encircling the Ukrainian militant group" in the Dimitrov area.