When Ukraine launched its diversionary invasion of the Kursk Oblast in Russia, they managed to catch the Russian army off guard, at least temporarily. To a certain extent that strategy has worked, and the Russian army has been forced to shuffle around some of its forces in response. But at the same time, many military analysts warned that the move would draw some of Ukraine's dwindling forces away from the primary focus of the war on the eastern front. Those warnings seem increasingly prescient this week, particularly when you take a close look at what's happening in Pokrovsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast. Pokrovsk is located in the eastern section of the country, near the edge of the territories annexed by Russia, and the people there have been taking a beating. A significant percentage of the population has already been forced to flee and the Russians have only increased their push to capture that territory since the incursion into Kursk. This week, the Wall Street Journal published a striking - if depressing - pictorial feature of the current conditions in Pokrovsk. The scenes are not for the faint of heart. What little food that remains is being rationed and the Russians are close enough to strike a knockout blow at any moment. (Subscription required.)

A baker now spends his days helping residents flee this eastern Ukrainian city. At night, he fires up his ovens to bake for the troops. Only one supermarket remains open in Pokrovsk, its windows boarded up and shelves mostly empty.

On the outskirts, coal miners dig trenches intended to help slow the Russians. At a church nearby, Rev. Vadym Harkavenko welcomes people for confession ahead of their long trips west.

“I tell my parishioners: If you have the chance to leave, leave,” said the Orthodox priest, who has seen half his congregation leave. “Then I tell them to go with God.”

Pokrovsk, once home to 80,000, is steadily emptying out and shutting down as the Russians close in.

The coal miners digging anti-tank trenches on the eastern edge of the city may slow down the Russians' tanks and armored personnel carriers for a bit, but it doesn't appear that it will be enough. As of the latest update this morning from the Times of India, the Russian army has at least 100 Ukrainian soldiers surrounded and they are waiting for orders from Moscow to proceed. The Ukrainian military has already lost the majority of four brigades of troops there, a development that is being described by analysts as being "potentially catastrophic" for Ukraine's military. 

The situation in Pokrovsk appears to be part of the larger strategic patchwork of the war. When Zelensky moved into Kursk, the Russians did appear to pull back from Pokrovsk, suggesting that Ukraine's strategy might be working. But as one military analyst from the Times of India described it, this was an intentional trap that they were laying down for Ukraine's remaining forces in the east. The Ukrainians fell into that trip with both feet, breaking cover and shifting some of their resources from defensive military maneuvers to distributing food and medicine to the civilian survivors in the city. The shift may also have slowed the exodus from Pokrovsk that had been underway. That's when the Russians struck in force, leaving Kursk to mostly lay dormant while they focused on the ground game on the eastern front. 

It's important to note that Pokrovsk is located on both a roadway and a railroad line that Ukraine’s military uses to funnel supplies to other parts of the eastern front. Russia isn't simply seeking to take and hold territory. They are chopping up Ukraine's supply lines and strategic military infrastructure. And if these most recent reports are accurate and Ukraine has lost an additional half of four battalions in the east, they may not be able to keep the wolves from the door for much longer. As far as Russia is concerned, Kursk can fend for itself until its gains in the Donetsk Oblast (where Pokrovsk is located) have been stabilized and fortified. With each mile of turf that Russia takes and holds, Vladimir Putin loses more of any possible incentive to seek a negotiated peace. Why bring a war to a sudden halt when you're winning?

Here's the video report mentioned above. The usual warnings about disturbing content apply. This is warfare, up close and personal, recorded as it was happening. Bad things happen in war.