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Russian forces are making significant advances toward the important mining town of Pokrovsk.

Moscow sees the takeover of the city as an important step towards the annexation of the entire Donbass region.

Just west of the city lies the coal mine, the only one in Ukraine that produces high-quality coking coal, which is vital to the steel industry and the war effort.

Pokrovsk also lies on an important road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other contested outposts.

In the first year of the war, the city was considered the safest place in Donbass, as the front line was just 48 kilometers away.

Given the Russian advance, there is now great fear that at the current rate the city could fall in the coming weeks.

The Ukrainian authorities have given residents two weeks to evacuate. People are to be packed in suitcases and loaded onto trains to leave the region.

How can Ukraine hold the city?

Kiev had hoped that the surprise invasion of the Russian Kursk region would divert troops from Pokrovsk.

But Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said yesterday that Moscow had understood Ukraine's goals and would continue to focus its efforts on Pokrovsk.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine would “further strengthen” its armed forces in the region after warning that the situation was “difficult”.

But if Kiev's forces can hold out, time could be on their side.

Analysts have pointed out that Vladimir Putin will find it difficult to maintain his momentum during the winter months, leaving him about 10 to 12 weeks to achieve his goals before the winter weather sets in.