Zelenskyy says situation near Toretsk and Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s east is ‘difficult’

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday the situation on Ukraine’s eastern frontline, near the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk, and also close to Toretsk, was “difficult.”

Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook that 14 combat clashes had been reported in the Toretsk area and 34 in the Pokrovsk sector since the start of the day.

Ukraine’s army chief said its forces have advanced 28-35 kilometers (17 to 22 miles) in Russia’s Kursk region while Moscow was moving some of its troops from other directions to strengthen positions there.

Oleksandr Syrskyi told a briefing broadcast by national TV that Russia was also sending additional troops to the Pokrovsk region in Ukraine’s east, which has seen the most intense fighting of late in Russia’s two-and-half-year-old invasion.