"No one is forcing them to die for the sake of the ruins": Zelenskyy answered regarding the withdrawal of the Armed Forces from Pokrovsk

However, any decision to withdraw troops is a matter for the military commanders who are fighting there. Zelensky made such a statement in an interview with Bloomberg published on November 13. "No one is forcing them to die for the sake of the ruins. I will support our soldiers, especially the commanders who are there, in how they can control the situation. Otherwise, it will be too expensive for us - the most important thing for us is our soldiers," he assured.

The president explained that the Kremlin seeks to occupy Pokrovsk in order to convince US President Donald Trump that Ukraine should withdraw troops from all of Donbas to end the war. "We cannot leave eastern Ukraine. No one will understand this, people will not understand this. And most importantly, no one guarantees you that if they capture this or that city, they will not move on. There is no deterrent," Zelenskyy emphasized.

According to him, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation "do not really have that much power" and aimed at the Ukrainian energy industry in order to force Kyiv to obey by spring. "They know that as soon as the energy factor disappears, they will not have any other strong factors," the president assured.

It will be recalled that on November 13, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that the Pokrovsky direction remains the main one in the context of the offensive of Russian troops. He confirmed that the occupiers are trying to take advantage of the bad weather, but assured that there is no question of an operational encirclement. British General Richard Shirreff explained that Russia needs Pokrovsk to demonstrate "victory" on the front to US President Donald Trump.