Updated

Yevhen Lasiichuk, commander of the 7th Air Assault Corps, said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda that Ukrainian forces gave up Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast in summer 2025 to send reserves to Dobropillia. He said the choice was correct because otherwise the enemy would have gained control over a wide front and advanced deep into the operational area. Lasiichuk said the aim was to stop Russian forces bypassing the whole of Donetsk Oblast, moving from the south toward Dobropillia and from the north toward Barvinkove. The military leadership chose to stabilise the Dobropillia area and restore lost positions as far as possible, and his corps brigades, among other units, were deployed there. Ukrinform carried the account, citing the Ukrainska Pravda interview.