Russian troops have moved to within around 12 km of Pokrovsk, overwhelming Ukraine’s stretched defences with vastly superior numbers and equipment. Thousands of residents have fled and key road and rail links to other cities risk being severed.

Oleksandr Kalenkov, head of Ukraine’s steelmakers’ association, said the loss of the Pokrovsk mine, the only domestic source of coking coal, could cause steel production to slump. “We could make up to 7.5 million metric tons of steel by the end of the year and, for next year, we saw an increase in production to over 10 million,” Kalenkov told Reuters.

Yikes!

Since they fret now, I wonder if they will be spinning or humiliated once Pokrovsk is liberated.