Ukraine replaces commander as Russia advances fast in the east
Item
1 of 3 A Ukrainian tank and a car are parked near a road sign that
reads, 'Pokrovsk’, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of
Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine December 12, 2024. REUTERS/Inna
Varenytsia/File Photo
[1/3]A
Ukrainian tank and a car are parked near a road sign that reads,
'Pokrovsk’, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Pokrovsk in
Donetsk region, Ukraine December 12, 2024. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia/File
Photo Purchase Licensing Rights KYIV,
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military leadership has replaced the
commander overseeing defences in the eastern Donetsk region where
Russian forces are
making swift advances, a military official said on Saturday.
General
Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, 54, was appointed to head the operational and
tactical group Donetsk, replacing General Oleksandr Lutsenko, the
official at the General Staff told Reuters.
Lutsenko
was criticized by Ukrainian military bloggers and some lawmakers for
failing to stop Russian troops' relentless push toward the strategic
Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
The
battles around Pokrovsk, a key logistic hub for Ukrainian military and
civilians in the eastern Donetsk region, come at a critical juncture of
the war.
Ukraine is on the back foot on the battlefield as Russian troops advance at their fastest pace since the early days of
Moscow's invasion in February 2022.
Last month President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced
several other generals, saying changes were needed.
Kyiv is also trying to build ties with U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump, whose promise to end the war swiftly has raised concerns in Ukraine that it could be largely on Moscow's terms.
Ukraine's
Khortytsiya military command said on Saturday that Russian troops had
destroyed several Ukrainian positions in villages around Pokrovsk,
improving their tactical positions after "exhausting battles" and
forcing Kyiv forces to retreat.
In its daily report, the Ukrainian military reported a total of 62 combat clashes near Pokrovsk in the last 24 hours.
Ukrainian
officials said that about 11,000 people still remain in Pokrovsk, which
has been under constant shelling for months and where all critical
infrastructure - electricity, water, and gas supplies were destroyed.
Pokrovsk
lies at the intersection of several important roads and rail lines and
is just about 20 kilometres away from the administrative border of the
Donetsk region. Moscow has been trying to reach that line since the
start of the invasion, as its forces aim to seize all of Donetsk and
Luhansk regions.
Military
analysts said that for Kyiv, losing Pokrovsk would also potentially
mean having the war closer to central Ukraine and its better-protected
rear.
Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Conor Humphries