Ukraine has claimed a major victory in its cross-border incursion into Russia – but it has been losing ground on its eastern front. Moscow has continued its march towards the strategically important town of Pokrovsk – displacing tens of thousands.
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00:00At a secret training camp in Ukraine's east, these conscript soldiers are preparing for
00:07battle.
00:11What's most striking about the group is their age.
00:14They're in their forties and fifties.
00:18Ukraine is running out of soldiers.
00:20In some battles they're outnumbered four to one.
00:25We are worried.
00:27Everyone is worried.
00:29No one knows but God what will happen to us tomorrow.
00:37This group will deploy to the most consequential skirmish this year, the battle for Pokrovsk.
00:42Ukraine's been losing ground since it re-routed troops to invade Russia in August.
00:49It seems to me that it would be better if we concentrated these forces completely on
00:53the defence of this direction, so as not to miss any breakthroughs or advances in this
00:58direction and ideally to push them to the borders.
01:02Taking the town of Pokrovsk is strategically important for Russia.
01:06That's because this road is the only one in and out of Dnipro, a key transport and logistics
01:13hub in Ukraine's industrial heartland and a prize Vladimir Putin has tried to take since
01:20he annexed Crimea in 2014.
01:28We will evacuate three people, two with limited mobility and the third person who walks more
01:33or less.
01:34The advance has forced tens of thousands to flee.
01:37This evacuation crew, East SOS, enter the city each day to make sure the sick and elderly
01:42get out.
01:46As the frontline approaches, the desperation grows, laden with possessions hundreds raced
01:51to get the last train out of town.
01:53Pain, tears, despair, but we hope for the best.
02:02God will help.
02:07The displaced are being taken to larger cities further west, including Dnipro.
02:14This is a place to sleep.
02:16There's silence and they feed us.
02:18Before that I did not eat anything at all for ten days.
02:21Every morning I opened the house and there was fog from shelling.
02:25The residents here want to return home, they're just not sure what will be left.