"Today I spoke with the Commander-in-Chief. The Pokrovsk direction faces the highest number of assaults. The situation is also difficult in the Kramatorsk, Toretsk, Kupyansk directions. Nearly two hundred battles are baing fought daily along the entire front," Zelenskyy said in a video message on Telegram.
On August 21, retired SBU Col. Oleg Starikov stated that a tactical crisis had already occurred for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Pokrovsk and Toretsk directions, which could develop into an operational one.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky previously stated that the situation along the entire front line was difficult. According to Syrsky, the Russian army has an advantage in the air, missiles, and artillery ammunition.
Last week, the General Staff of the Ukrainian troops reported a tense situation in the Kupyansk and Seversk directions.
Earlier, the head of the Russian administration of the Kharkov region, Vitaly Ganchev, said that the Russian Armed Forces were liberating the road connecting Kupyansk and Svatovo, and several villages along it had already come under the control of Russian troops. According to Ganchev, the Russian Armed Forces are slowly but surely advancing toward Kupyansk.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Yug ("West") group of forces had liberated the settlements of Stelmakhovka in the LPR and Sinkovka in the Kharkiv region. On Saturday, August 31, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Yug group of forces had defeated units of four Ukrainian brigades and repelled a counterattack, with the enemy losing up to 780 servicemen.