MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army is unable with its available forces and capabilities to hold Krasnoarmeisk (called Pokrovsk by Ukraine) in the Donetsk region, former Deputy Chief of Ukraine’s General Staff Lieutenant General (retired) Igor Romanenko said on Tuesday.
The ex-military officer spoke about measures to counter the advance by Russian troops and stated that the Ukrainian army had long been unable to halt it, in particular, due to the absence of well-organized mobilization.
"This is due to the existing situation with the provision of armament, equipment and ammunition, on the one hand, and in this regard we are strongly dependent on the West’s aid, and, on the other hand, the issue of mobilization and thus of deliveries and personnel training in accordance with the requirements of the Ukrainian armed forces has not been resolved in the past three years," he said in an interview with the Politeka Online YouTube channel.
When asked by the news presenter about whether the Ukrainian army "will have sufficient forces and resources to hold Pokrovsk," Romanenko replied: "Unfortunately, I don’t think so, given the available resources."
The Ukrainian general also highlighted that the situation in the Pokrovsk area "is indeed, difficult and is deteriorating."
The Ukrainskaya Pravda media outlet reported earlier that Ukraine’s military commanders could not arrange effective troop command and control in the Pokrovsk area.
As the media outlet highlighted, "chaos has persisted in command and control of troops and units at various levels for almost twelve months." It further reported that Ukrainian army brigades were being depleted in that and other frontline areas and were not receiving reinforcements, while new formations were quickly losing personnel and military equipment due to the absence of combat experience and were facing an acute problem of desertions.
Krasnoarmeisk is a major logistics hub for the Ukrainian army in the Donbass region. Former Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Igor Mosiychuk (listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) said earlier that the loss of the city would become a disaster for Ukraine.