Ukraine sacks commander as Russia advances on key logistics hub

Ukraine's military has dismissed the commander responsible for its operations in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces are gaining ground and threatening a key logistics hub.

A Ukrainian official confirmed to the Financial Times on Friday that Oleksandr Lutsenko had been relieved of his duties as commander of the Donetsk operational and tactical group.

Under Lutsenko’s leadership, Ukraine’s forces failed to halt Russia’s rapid offensive, which has captured territory equivalent to half the size of London in just a month. The official stated that Lutsenko would be reassigned within the ground forces and that Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi would take his place.

Earlier on Friday, Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, spoke from a command post near the city of Pokrovsk, a central hub for eastern Donetsk operations and critical for army logistics. He described fierce battles with Russian forces, which he said were “superior… primarily in manpower.”

“The fighting is extremely intense,” Syrsky said. “The Russians are deploying all available forces in an attempt to break through our defensive lines.”

The Ukrainian war-monitoring group Deep State, which is closely tied to the defense ministry, reported that Ukrainian troops defending four villages south of Pokrovsk are at risk of encirclement, with Russian forces attacking from multiple directions.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s largest steel producer, Metinvest, announced it had halted operations at the country’s sole coking coal mine due to the Russian advance. According to a company memo, Russian forces had moved to within 2 km of the mine near Pokrovsk.

The mine accounts for about half of Metinvest’s domestic coal production and supplies coke, a critical material for steelmaking. Metinvest said it had evacuated essential staff and their families.

Russian forces are advancing at their fastest pace since 2022, focusing on Pokrovsk and the nearby towns of Kurakhove and Velyka Novosilka. This area lies near major highways connecting to the Dnipropetrovsk region and the strategic city of Dnipro, a logistical hub for Ukraine’s military along the 1,000-km frontline.

Highlighting the dire situation in the east, Syrsky hinted at the need for “non-standard decisions” to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses and disrupt Russian advances, though he did not specify what these might involve. Known for his bold tactics, Syrsky previously orchestrated Ukraine’s 2022 counteroffensive in Kharkiv and a daring operation in Russia’s Kursk region in August.

Analysts have pointed to manpower shortages as Ukraine’s most pressing issue. Experienced soldiers are being killed or injured, and recruitment efforts have struggled. The average age of a Ukrainian soldier is around 45, with many new draftees in poor physical condition.

Despite sustaining higher casualties, Russian forces significantly outnumber Ukrainian troops. Commanders in Donetsk told the FT that their soldiers are sometimes outnumbered by as much as 8 to 1.

To address the manpower shortfall, the U.S. has urged President Zelenskyy to lower the military recruitment age from 25 to 18. However, Zelenskyy has resisted, attributing Ukraine’s challenges to delays in the delivery of Western weapons.

“Our state is not planning to lower the recruitment age — let there be no speculation,” Zelenskyy told parliament last month.