Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Pokrovsk axis of the front (Donetsk region) is the most difficult in terms of military operations and that the Ukrainian Defense Forces need to intensify strikes against the Russian occupiers there.

"Commander-in-Chief Syrsky's report on the frontline situation, and, of course, regarding Pokrovsk axis. There are always the toughest battles there, and this direction needs our most intensified responses to the occupier," Zelenskyy said in an evening video address.

According to him, "each brigade, each unit in Pokrovsk axis – all our soldiers who maintain stability there and defend our positions, despite Russian assaults – largely hold the foundation of defense in the entire east of our country." The president also said the military leadership is not reducing its attention to all other areas on the front – in Donetsk, as well as in Kharkiv and the southern regions of Ukraine.