Ukrainian soldiers blow up shaft where Russia was preparing to transport soldiers and equipment

Ukrainian troops blew up one of the shafts of a strategically important coal mine near Pokrovsk so that the Russians could not use it to secretly transport troops to the rear of Ukrainian defenders, The New York Times reports .

As miners told journalists, due to constant Russian shelling, which cost the lives of some mine workers, the entrance to shaft No. 3 has become too dangerous. It is located closest to the front, in the village of Peschanoye.

Therefore, in early December, miners began to be lowered into the mine through a different shaft, which is why the descent lasted much longer - about two hours. To return back, the miners rode on conveyor belts that transported freshly mined coal.

The shelling sometimes caused the power and ventilation systems to fail, forcing miners to evacuate. However, keeping the mine open for as long as possible was critical to the Ukrainian economy, as it was the mine that supplied Ukrainian steelmakers with the required grade of coal.

However, by mid-December, Russian troops had comewithin one and a half kilometers of Entrance No. 3. If the occupiers had managed to capture it, they could have used these tunnels to bypass Ukrainian positions. To prevent this from happening, the miners, together with the military, planted explosives under the shaft and detonated them around December 20.

According to an unnamed representative of the company that owns the mine, explosives were also planted in two other mines at the enterprise that remain under Ukrainian control today. However, it is not known whether they have already been detonated.

As reported, the occupiers are planning to cut off ground supply routes to Pokrovsk and Mirnograd in the Donetsk region in order to force Ukrainian troops to retreat from these cities. This is how the American Institute for the Study of War assesses the Russian strategy.

The Chairman of the Council of Reserves of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ivan Tymochko believes that the Russian occupiers currently lack the strength to conduct a large-scale encirclement of Pokrovsk on a wide front from theflanks. However, he admits that the situation is very serious.