Ukrainian officials urge civilians to evacuate eastern town of Pokrovsk as Russian troops close in
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Military authorities in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk on Friday urged civilians to speed up their evacuation because the Russian army is quickly closing in on what has for months been one of Moscow’s key targets in the war.
The call for people to get out as soon as possible came as Kyiv’s forces are trying to divert the Kremlin’s military focus to Russian soil by launching a bold incursion across the border into the Kursk region.
The urgency also underscored the high-stakes gamble Ukraine is making by taking the war into Russia with its ongoing assault that started Aug. 6. The attack was a daring attempt to change the dynamics of the 2 1/2-year conflict, but it could leave Ukraine’s shorthanded defense at the mercy of Russia’s push. The Kremlin’s forces have had battlefield momentum and superior forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region since the spring.
Evacuations in the Donetsk region around Pokrovsk have become increasingly urgent in recent weeks.
