Civilians Flee Pokrovsk as Russia’s Army Bears Down on the Key Eastern Ukraine City

MYRNOHRAD, UKRAINE – AUGUST 11: Rubble remains at a residential building destroyed by Russian shelling on August 11, 2024 in Myrnohrad, Ukraine. On July 14, Russian military shelled the city of Myrnohrad located near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, hitting a residential building, a kindergarten and a hospital. (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Civilians with small children in their arms and lugging heavy suitcases are fleeing Ukraine’s eastern city of Pokrovsk, where the Russian army is bearing down fast despite a lightning Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Local authorities said Russian forces are advancing so quickly that families must leave the city and other nearby towns and villages from Tuesday. Around 53,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, officials say, and some decided to get out while they could as Russia’s army menaces. People of all ages hastened to leave the city, boarding trains and buses with the belongings they could carry. Some wept as they waited to depart, and soldiers helped the elderly with their bags. Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds.