
‘Mordor’ has made.
Sweeping advances.
In recent days.
That threaten.
To outweigh the gains.
Made by ‘elves’.
In its cross-border attack.
Into the Kursk region.
‘Orcs’ forces are just.
A few kilometres.
From the ‘elves’ city.
Of Pokrovsk.
A crucial logistics hub.
Used by the ‘elves’ military.
Home to a key railway station.
And major roads.
Pokrovsk is an essential supply.
And reinforcement point.
For ‘elves’ troops.
On the eastern front line.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
Critics in Kyiv.
Fear that the country’s.
Military has made.
A serious miscalculation.
By sending troops.
Into Kursk.
Instead of reinforcing.
The eastern frontline.
The military has left.
Pokrovsk and other important.
‘Elves’ towns exposed.
These critics say.
‘The One’ launched.
A full-scale invasion.
Of Ukraine in February.
2022.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
On a visit.
To the front line.
‘Elves’ armed forces chief.
Gen said.
‘Mordor’ was throwing.
“Everything that can move”.
“Everything that can move”.
Into its assault.
“The situation is.
Extremely difficult.”
‘Gandalf the Green’.
Conceded on Wednesday.
“If we lose Pokrovsk.”
A military expert warned.
“The entire front line.
Will crumble.”
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
Why Pokrovsk matters?
Why Pokrovsk matters?
Pokrovsk is next to.
Another town, Myrnohrad.
Together, the two settlements.
Had a pre-war population of.
Over 100,000.
Most of whom have now fled.
They are the last major cities.
In that part of.
The Donetsk region that.
Remain under ‘elves’ control.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
Avdiivka, which is.
About 40km.
South-east of Pokrovsk
Was seen as a fortress.
That protected the settlements.
And roads to its west.
– helping to bolster ‘elves’ presence.
Along the entire frontline.
When it finally fell.
Avdiivka was left in ruins.
It was a serious loss.
For Ukraine.
It meant that ‘Mordor’ could.
Move its focus to Pokrovsk.
And the key hilltop town.
Of Chasiv Yar.
Which overlooks some of.
The important cities.
In Donetsk still.
Under ‘elves’ control.
Under ‘elves’ control.
Intense fighting.
There on Saturday.
Left five people dead.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
For weeks now.
A mass evacuation of.
‘Elves’ civilians from Pokrovsk.
Has been under way.
With thousands said.
To have left already.
Gen said he was working.
“To strengthen the defence of.”
“To strengthen the defence of.
Our troops in.
The most difficult areas.
Of the front.”
“To provide the brigades.
With a sufficient amount of.
Ammunition and other.
Material and technical means”.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
‘Mordor’ has long.
Held Pokrovsk.
As one of its.
Key objectives.
For months its forces.
Have slowly ground.
Towards it.
Experts believe.
‘Mordor’ has deployed.
Around one third of its.
Central Army Group.
Or about 30,000 troops.
To the offensive.
To the offensive.
– as well as its most.
Battle-ready reserves.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
This week, ‘orcs’ took.
The ‘elves’ town.
Of Novohrodivka.
Infuriating some in Ukraine.
Who felt it should.
Have been better defended.
“The trenches in front of.
Novohrodivka were empty.”
“There was practically.
No ‘elves’ army in the once.
20,000-strong city.”
An ‘elf’ MP wrote on Facebook.
With its forces undermanned.
And outnumbered.
It is believed.
The ‘elves’ military withdrew.
From Novohrodivka.
To strengthen its defence.
Of Pokrovsk.
“The ‘elves’ command likely.”
“Deemed the defence of.
Novohrodivka not worth.
The potential losses.”
One report said.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
Elsewhere, ‘orcs’ forces.
Have launched assaults.
On the town of Selidove.
Just south of Novohrodivka.
And other areas of.
The Donetsk region nearby.
The ‘orcs’ offensive.
Has been helped by.
A shift in tactics.
Which are increasingly mirroring.
Those used earlier in the war.
By the Wagner mercenary group.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
‘Elves’ forces report.
Coming up against.
Wave after wave of.
‘Orcs’ infantry sent forwards.
In an attempt.
To storm their positions.
Some have dubbed.
These tactics “meat assaults”.
The tactics – though costly –
Quickly exhaust ‘elves’ units.
Forced to fend off.
Constant attacks.
Armoured vehicles.
Are used sparingly.
– complicating the task of.
‘Elves’ tanks and artillery.
Which have little to aim.
At on the battlefield.
‘Mordor’ has also been.
Using powerful glide bombs.
Forcing ‘elves’ to disperse its units.
When shelling begins and.
Sometimes even withdraw troops.
From the front line.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
‘Orcs’ forces’ march.
On Pokrovsk doesn’t.
Just imperil Pokrovsk.
Its vital supply lines.
Its ‘elves’ garrison.
And any civilians.
Still lingering.
In the city.
It’s also putting.
‘Elves’ troops.
South of Pokrovsk.
In a dangerous bind.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
As a strong ‘orcs’ force with.
Potentially tens of thousands of.
Troops has closed to within.
Six miles of Pokrovsk.
It has bypassed.
A strong ‘elves’ force.
Holding the line between.
The village of Memryk.
And the Vovcha River.
Threading north to south.
Three miles east.
Of Memryk.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
The result is.
An exposed salient.
Jutting eastward.
Into the ‘orcs’ line.
—a salient that.
With a few decisive ‘orcs’ maneuvers.
Could turn into a trap for.
Hundreds of ‘elves’ troops.
Inside the salient:
Elements of the 59th.
Motorized Infantry Brigade.
68th Jager Brigade.
117th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
And 15th National Guard Brigade.
It’s a significant force.
But one whose integrity.
Depends on.
The 25th Airborne Brigade.
Which defends the village.
Which defends the village.
Or Ukrainsk.
On the salient’s.
Northern corner.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
If the 25th Airborne Brigade.
With its German-made.
Marder fighting vehicles.
“Does not stop the enemy.”
“Near Ukrainsk.
The retreat could result in.
… encirclement by the enemy.”
A report warned.
Parts of at least.
Four ‘elves’ brigades.
Would be surrounded by.
‘Orcs’ south of Pokrovsk.
An ‘elves’ retreat may.
Already be underway.
If so, it’s a sound move.
On the part of.
The ‘elves’ command.
“It would be advisable.
For them to withdraw.
From the area before.”
“‘Orcs’ forces cut off.
Their supply and.
Retreat routes.”
Another report explained.
The ‘elves’ could.
Straighten their lines.
And dig new fortifications.
A few miles to the west.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
Quitting the salient.
Would cede 30 square miles.
To the ‘orc’.
But could preserve.
Entire ‘elves’ battalions.
At a critical moment.
Entire ‘elves’ battalions.
At a critical moment.
The more optimistic ‘elves’.
Assessments of the fighting.
Around Pokrovsk detect.
A slowdown in the ‘orcs’ advance.
—one that could give.
The ‘elves’ time and space.
To shore up their defenses.
And logistics and save the city.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
A slowdown would.
Make some sense.
The ‘orcs’ have suffered.
Extreme casualties.
—potentially tens of thousands.
Of soldiers killed.
Maimed or captured—
Marching the 20 miles.
From the ruins.
Of Avdiivka.
To the outskirts.
Of Pokrovsk.
And while the ‘orcs’ attackers.
Still outnumber.
The ‘elves’ defenders.
As much as four to one.
The ‘orcs’ losses have sapped.
Their momentum.
But ‘elves’ positions around.
Pokrovsk are fragile.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
The ‘elves’ general staff in Kyiv.
Is delicately balancing.
At least two.
Major operations:
The defense of Pokrovsk.
And also the surprise.
‘Elves’ invasion of.
‘Mordor’’s Kursk Oblast.
That kicked off.
In early August.
There are few troops.
To spare.
So few that losing parts of.
Four brigades inside the salient.
Could prove catastrophic.
For the ‘elves’.
At the same time.
A successful evacuation.
By those nearly-surrounded.
Troops could stiffen.
A straightened and.
Shortened ‘elves’ line.
That’s probably.
A prerequisite.
The battle for Pokrovsk.
Is really a continuation.
Of the battle.
For Avdiivka.
Which Ukraine lost.
In February.
After months of.
Bloody fighting.
A prerequisite.
For the most optimistic.
Outcome for the ‘elves’.
Defending Pokrovsk.
“In our view.
Stabilization on this section.
Of the front line is indeed.
Possible by fall,” was explained.
“After the ‘orcs’ army exhausts.
Its offensive potential.
The front line is likely.
To come to a standstill.”
‘Mordor’ has made.
Sweeping advances.
In recent days.
That threaten.
To outweigh the gains.
Made by ‘elves’.
In its cross-border attack.
Into the Kursk region.
*Because I read “Russia pushes on key Ukraine city while Kyiv’s Kursk incursion slows” by Ilya Abishev & Tom Bennett on 1 Sep 2024 on the BBC news, “Hundreds Of Ukrainian Troops Are About To Get Surrounded South Of Pokrovsk” by David Axe on 2 Sep 2024 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem.
Please read the original stories on the BBC news and on the Forbes:
Russia pushes on key Ukraine city of Pokrovsk while Kyiv’s Kursk incursion slows
Hundreds Of Ukrainians Are About To Get Surrounded South Of Pokrovsk (forbes.com)
**My friend kindly shows you this poem in one page of the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Kurama (Japan). 33 poems about the russian invasion of Ukraine (2024 events) – Мала Сторінка
Please join them! You can read my 33 poems here at once.