https://static.euobserver.com/2026/08/ponomarenko-bileckij-1-600x381.jpg" width="600" />
The appointment of Biletskyi and Prokopenko to lead more than 100,000 troops could decide whether eastern cities like Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Dobropillia hold—or fall—under intensifying Russian assaults and long‑range missile strikes.