The situation is critical, a Ukrainian military officer in the east told the BBC near the front line south of Pokrovsk.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s military strategy now appears to be surrounding the city, which is a key transportation hub in the region.<\/p>\n
The officer, who preferred to stay anonymous, said his military leadership want to hold their positions at all costs, often leading to the loss of troops and resources.<\/p>\n
That approach, he says, was resulting in a number of \u201ccauldrons\u201d, large territories surrounded by the Russian forces.<\/p>\n
One of them is south of Pokrovsk – between Nevelske, Hirnyk and Krasnohorivka.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not planning to advance towards the city of Donetsk any time soon, so why are we holding positions near Nevelske when we\u2019re losing Hirnyk?\u201d said the officer.<\/p>\n
Far better to retreat to Hirnyk, he believes, with a minimum loss of resources and hold those positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen your enemy has more people and resources than you do, this strategy is reckless,\u201d the Ukrainian officer added.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the Donetsk region, it looks like a squid. [To defend all the] tentacles, you need a far bigger number of positions, observation posts. You need to hold back far bigger assault groups because the Russians are trying to attack from all sides.”<\/p>\n
So, instead of withdrawing and reduce the length of the line they need to defend, the officer says, brigades get wiped out fighting along the entire perimeter of the “cauldron” simply because the main criteria of success for generals is to hold positions.<\/p>\n