Ukraine’s invasion of Russia was seen by some as a masterstroke, but it might backfire

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Ukraine has claimed a major victory in its cross-border incursion into Russia – but it has been losing ground on its eastern front. Moscow has continued its march towards the strategically important town of Pokrovsk – displacing tens of thousands.

Transcript

00:00At a secret training camp in Ukraine's east, these conscript soldiers are preparing for

00:07battle.

00:11What's most striking about the group is their age.

00:14They're in their forties and fifties.

00:18Ukraine is running out of soldiers.

00:20In some battles they're outnumbered four to one.

00:25We are worried.

00:27Everyone is worried.

00:29No one knows but God what will happen to us tomorrow.

00:37This group will deploy to the most consequential skirmish this year, the battle for Pokrovsk.

00:42Ukraine's been losing ground since it re-routed troops to invade Russia in August.

00:49It seems to me that it would be better if we concentrated these forces completely on

00:53the defence of this direction, so as not to miss any breakthroughs or advances in this

00:58direction and ideally to push them to the borders.

01:02Taking the town of Pokrovsk is strategically important for Russia.

01:06That's because this road is the only one in and out of Dnipro, a key transport and logistics

01:13hub in Ukraine's industrial heartland and a prize Vladimir Putin has tried to take since

01:20he annexed Crimea in 2014.

01:28We will evacuate three people, two with limited mobility and the third person who walks more

01:33or less.

01:34The advance has forced tens of thousands to flee.

01:37This evacuation crew, East SOS, enter the city each day to make sure the sick and elderly

01:42get out.

01:46As the frontline approaches, the desperation grows, laden with possessions hundreds raced

01:51to get the last train out of town.

01:53Pain, tears, despair, but we hope for the best.

02:02God will help.

02:07The displaced are being taken to larger cities further west, including Dnipro.

02:14This is a place to sleep.

02:16There's silence and they feed us.

02:18Before that I did not eat anything at all for ten days.

02:21Every morning I opened the house and there was fog from shelling.

02:25The residents here want to return home, they're just not sure what will be left.

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