According to Maj. Gen. Väli, what is happening in the Pokrovsk direction is also occurring on the rest of the frontline. The only exception is in the Kursk direction.

"The initiative is unfortunately in the hands of the Russians. Donetsk Oblast is where the Russian offensive is directed at the moment. That is where they are currently most active and indeed the Russians are moving forward there," Maj. Gen. Väli explained.

Maj. Gen. Väli said that Russian troops are anticipated to be around four kilometers from the perimeter of the Pokrovsk settlement and that fighting was taking place in both the Pokrovsk direction and around Chasiv Yar.

"The Ukrainians are facing an extremely difficult situation there, as Pokrovsk is logistically important. There are a lot of communication lines running into it in order to supply the Ukrainian units that are fighting, and if the Russians manage to take Pokrovsk, there will be supply issues for the Ukrainians."

Maj. Gen. Väli said that to stop an attack, the Ukrainians would likely need to attack the Russian troops from the flanks. However, he also questioned whether the Ukrainians have enough reserves to do so.

According to Maj. Gen. Väli, some smaller Russian units that have otherwise been fighting in  Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, have been sighted in Kursk Oblast. "There has been some withdrawal of forces, but unfortunately not on such a large scale that it has reduced the momentum of the Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast," Maj. Gen. Väli continued.

In Kursk Oblast, however, the initiative is with the Ukrainians. Russia has deployed troops there, but has failed to organize their command and control, Maj. Gen. Väli said.

According to Maj. Gen Väli, the Ukrainians in Kursk will continue to move forward until they meet organized resistance.

"One can speculate that these active reconnaissance groups from the Ukrainian side are even deeper inside Russian territory. I believe that the Ukrainians will try to go as far as they can, but if they face such a strong and organized resistance, they will probably stop moving there and instead look for good geographical positions from which it would be easier to defend themselves," said Maj. Gen Väli.

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