Russian troops have advanced to within 12 kilometers of Pokrovsk, overwhelming Ukraine's vastly outnumbered and out-equipped defenses. Thousands of residents have fled and key road and rail links to other cities are at risk of being severed.
About 10 km west of the city center is a mine that produces a special type of coal needed to make coke, a key element in the production of steel, which is second only to agriculture in earning foreign currency for Ukraine.
According to trade data, in the first eight months of this year, metal exports were worth about $2 billion - the money needed to keep Ukraine afloat two and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion.
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 mentioned.
"But if we lose Pokrovsk, then ... we will fall to 2-3 million tons."
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