Russia amasses 1,10,000 troops around east Ukraine's ‘hottest spot' Pokrovsk– why is the site important? All we know
Russia-Ukraine war: With Russia and Ukraine still at loggerheads with each other, the former has now amassed 1,10,000 troops in the vicinity of Pokrovsk as part of its efforts to take over the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, the Ukrainian military chief said, as per reports.
Moscow considers Pokrovsk a strategic target, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his goal is to seize all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk his forces partially occupy, reported CNN.
While speaking about the development, Ukraine military Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi further said that the area around Pokrovsk was the 'hottest spot' along the 1,200-kilometre (745 miles) front line which runs across the east of Ukraine.
While Pokrovsk is not a key city, the 'strategic site' is located on a key supply road and railroad that connect it with other military hubs in the area. Along with Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, Pokrovsk forms the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in the part of Donetsk region that is still under Kyiv's control.
Additionally, Ukraine's last operating coking coal mine was in Pokrovsk wit a majority of its employees staying in the area to keep it going. After it was forced to shut down early this year, people began to leave.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor, said late last year that Ukrainian defensive operations in Pokrovsk have forced Russia to abandon its original plan to take over Pokrovsk in a frontal assault.
Some 60,000 lived in Pokrovsk before the war, but the majority have left in the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, reported CNN.
Russian drones struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 17, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, three attack helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system were destroyed in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, reported news agencies.
Ukraine's Security Service agency deployed special drones to attack the Kirovske military airfield, a Ukrainian security official said on Saturday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Sukhbir Badal dares Bhagwant Mann to prove foreign funding in Bikram Singh Majithia-linked company
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday challenged chief minister Bhagwant Mann to prove that Saraya Industries Limite, in which his party colleague Bikram Singh Majithia holds an 11% inherited stake, received even a single rupee in foreign funding since 2007. He dismissed allegations made in the disproportionate assets case against Majithia as baseless and politically motivated. Addressing a press conference, Sukhbir said, "The only foreign funding received by Saraya Industries was in March 2006—one year before SAD formed govt in the state—when it received Rs 35 crore from United States-based Clearwater Corporation in exchange for 25% shares in the company. Majithia entered politics only in 2007. " He asserted that Clearwater Corporation, which had offices in several countries, invested Rs 50,000 crore globally. "All money invested by this company through the NBFC in Saraya Industries was done after due clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)." Sukhbir made it clear that all transactions of Saraya Industries were scrutinised and accepted by the income-tax department. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Преносим лазерен заваръчен пистолет, 50% отстъпка днес HL Купете сега Undo "This clearly proves that claims of an investment of Rs 540 crore into Saraya Industries through foreign funding are absurd and malicious and being done with the sole purpose of defaming Majithia," he said. He added Saraya Industries was a private limited company deemed to be a public limited company and was a different entity from Majithia, and could not be solely associated with the latter. "Majithia has no control over the company's day-to-day functioning," Sukhbir said. Sukhbir reiterated that Mann pressured DGP Gaurav Yadav to register a case against Majithia because the latter was constantly exposing him and his corrupt and immoral cabinet colleagues. "The CM rang up the DGP on June 24 night and threatened to remove him in case he did not register a case against Majithia by the morning. Consequently, DGP wrote to the vigilance bureau to register a case against the Akali leader at 10.40 pm the same night. Then, a disproportionate assets case was registered against Mr Majithia at 4.40am on June 25," Sukhbir said. Terming the entire case as illegal and wilful fabrication, Badal said, "We will go to the people and expose the AAP govt." "The truth is the AAP govt failed to find any drugs in the NDPS case and has now failed to find any illegal assets in the Disproportionate Assets case," Badal added. MSID:: 121993707 413 |
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
US skipped bunker-busters at key Iran nuke site due to depth, general reveals
The U.S. military deliberately avoided using bunker-buster bombs on Iran's Isfahan nuclear complex because the site's extreme depth rendered the weapons ineffective, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine confirmed in a classified Senate briefing. Isfahan's underground facilities reportedly store 60% of Iran's enriched uranium, critical for bomb development, buried beyond the reach of America's GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs). Instead, submarines launched Tomahawk missiles to strike surface structures. The disclosure, first reported by CNN, underscores tactical limitations against Iran's fortified sites. While B-2 stealth bombers dropped 14 bunker-busters on the shallower Fordow and Natanz facilities, Isfahan's geology demanded alternative tactics. CIA Director John Ratcliffe noted that most of Iran's nuclear material remains concentrated at Isfahan and Fordow, amplifying strategic concerns about untouched uranium reserves. The decision highlights a stark gap between military capabilities and presidential rhetoric. Despite President Trump's claims that strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, an early Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment concluded core facilities survived, setting back enrichment only "by months." Satellite imagery analyzed by weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis showed vehicles near Isfahan's tunnels days before the strike, with entrances reopened by June 27, suggesting uranium may have been moved. Technical analyses further indicate bunker-busters would have failed: Fordow's 90-meter depth exceeds the MOP's 25-meter penetration in medium-strength rock. At Isfahan, even 30,000-pound bombs couldn't reach chambers housing centrifuges. "Annihilated is too strong," conceded IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, though he acknowledged "enormous damage" to above-ground infrastructure. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN on Thursday night, after receiving the briefing, that some of Iran's facilities 'are so far underground that we can never reach them. So they have the ability to move a lot of what has been saved into areas where there's no American bombing capacity that can reach it.' Republican lawmakers emerged from briefings acknowledging uranium stocks likely endure but defended the mission's scope. 'There is enriched uranium in the facilities that moves around, but that was not the intent or the mission,' Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas was quoted as telling CNN. 'My understanding is most of it's still there. So we need a full accounting. That's why Iran has to come to the table directly with us, so the (International Atomic Energy Agency) can account for every ounce of enriched uranium that's there. I don't think it's going out of the country, I think it's at the facilities,' McCaul continued. However, White House assertions clash with intelligence: Trump insisted "nothing was moved" pre-strike, despite DIA evidence of relocations and Israel's assessment of a "significant hit" (not total destruction). With Tehran now suspending IAEA access, confirming uranium's status remains impossible, leaving a critical void in assessing the operation's true impact.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
China's big snub to US, issues license for THIS thing to European countries, Trump left in..., it is...
New Delhi: China has started issuing export licenses for rare earth elements and magnets to European companies. This has been confirmed by the South China Morning Post, citing sources in the European Union. This is being described as a big setback for the USA, as President Donald Trump has been trying his best to get this license from China for the last several months. Apart from this, European governments and companies have been lobbying for several weeks to reduce export restrictions from China. China imposed these restrictions in response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Apart from the US, European countries were also included in the Chinese sanctions. What did the Chinese Commerce Ministry say? Earlier on Thursday, June 26, China's Commerce Ministry said that it was 'expediting the approval of rare earth export licenses' for EU firms 'in accordance with the law.' Ministry spokesman He Yadong said, 'China is ready to further enhance communication with relevant countries on export controls, actively facilitating convenient and mutually beneficial trade.' EU sources have certainly said that there is no such thing as a green channel between China and the EU regarding this, but they have seen the Chinese ministry giving export licenses to EU countries and companies. What's next for China and European Union? Next month, a summit of China and the European Union leaders is going to be held. President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and senior EU leaders are going to meet in this conference. In such a situation, China's resumption of this license process can lead to easing of tense relations between the two sides. The European Union believes that they are caught in the middle of the trade and technological war of the two superpowers. In such a situation, they need a permanent solution to stay away from these matters. Speaking at a webinar on Thursday, the EU's trade chief for China, Eva Valle Lagares, used sharp words. She said it was 'unclear' whether Beijing had acted like 'killing chickens to scare away monkeys' and the EU had been caught in the crossfire. She was referring to the China-US trade war, which has Europe at its core and is suffering the most as it also faces tariffs from the Donald Trump administration.
