Zelenskyy: Russian saboteurs entered Pokrovsk up to seven times, but they are being destroyed

Russian saboteurs have entered Pokrovsk in small groups up to seven times, but such occupants are destroyed by Ukrainian defenders, the president said Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting with journalists on July 24.

"They [the Russians at the front] are not advancing. It is very difficult for our guys there. It's hard everywhere. And it's very hard for the 'Russians', which is good for us. And the 'Russians' don't want to fight. Except for their leadership. And you can feel it all. There are more of them. There is more pressure. More mobilization. Therefore, we have more risks. They are really trying to make a breakthrough. They have no serious breakthroughs," the head of state said.

According to the president, the Russians "understand that they will get their asses handed to them" and therefore carry out more military information operations, such as the Pokrovsk situation.

During this time, Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups of two to six occupants entered Pokrovsk five to seven times, and once the invaders tried to secure 12 soldiers, Zelenskyy said, citing data from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.

"[The Russians] are trying to make some kind of video: they put up a flag, they filmed it... and they are destroyed by our defenders," the head of state said.

He added that Russian pressure is "everywhere" on the frontline – at the Pokrovsk, Kharkiv and Kupyanske directions, but noted that "our guys are standing."

The entry of saboteurs into Dnipropetrovs'k region is a conditional success for the occupiers, as the invaders can make information victories from it, the president noted.

According to him, the situation on the administrative border of Dnipropetrovs'k region is the same as in Pokrovsk: Russians enter the field where "there is no living space" and where Ukrainian soldiers are not standing – they are instead at a distance and "destroy everything they can."

In such circumstances, Zelenskyy emphasized, it doesn't matter whether "they [the Russians] went in or not."

Regarding the Sumy sector, the president said that the situation of the defenders there is "much better than it was".

"Over this month and a half, I think there are normal steps," the Ukrainian leader said.

In his opinion, Sumy and Pokrovsk remain of interest to the occupiers, and "Dnipropetrovs'k region [the occupiers] want very much."

• According to the Ukrainian analytical project Deepstate, Russian subversive groups were able to penetrate Pokrovsk because "one of the brigades simply ran out of infantry, as well as [due to] an inaccurate presentation of the situation on the ground."

• Deepstate said on July 25, as active clearing operations continued in the area of Troianda village and Yuvileinyy Park on the outskirts of the city, most of the occupants were eliminated by the Defense Forces.

• On the destruction by Ukrainian defenders of a Russian subversive group that tried to infiltrate Pokrovsk was reported by Syrskyi on July 18. Two days later, president Zelenskyy wrote that the Ukrainian defenders continues to destroy Russian saboteurs in Pokrovsk and other areas.