The urgency also underscored the high-stakes gamble Ukraine is making by taking the war into Russia with its ongoing Kursk assault.
Military authorities in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk on Friday urged civilians to speed up their evacuation because the Russian army is quickly closing in on what has for months been one of Moscow's key targets in the war.
The attack is a daring attempt to change the dynamics of the 2½-year conflict, but it could backfire and leave Ukraine's shorthanded defence on the front line at the mercy of Russia's push. The Kremlin's forces have had battlefield momentum and superior forces in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region since the spring.
Russia's slow slog across Donetsk this year has been costly in terms of troops and armour, but its gains have mounted up. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned on Thursday that Pokrovsk and other nearby towns in the Donetsk region were "facing the most intense Russian assaults."That same day, authorities told people to start evacuating the town.
In Kursk, meanwhile, Ukrainian troops have taken full control of Sudzha, Zelenskyy said Thursday. It's the largest Russian town to fall to Ukraine's forces since the start of their incursion 10 days ago, and the success raised Ukrainian spirits while embarrassing the Kremlin.
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