In a gripping video released by Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, a 97-year-old Ukrainian woman is seen fleeing her town in eastern Ukraine to escape advancing Russian troops. Armed with two makeshift canes, she trudged through the war-torn region for 10 hours, with gunfire and explosions echoing behind her.

The elderly woman, wrapped in a woollen shawl and a warm grey coat, revealed that her house was burned down as a result of Russian shelling. Determined to survive, she pressed on despite fainting and falling twice along the way. Eventually, she was rescued by the White Angels, a police unit tasked with evacuating civilians from front-line areas.

Ocheretyne, the Donetsk town where the woman lived, had a prewar population of about 3,400. It was occupied by Nazi Germans from 1941 to 1943, and fell to Russian forces earlier this month. Distressed by the situation, the woman described the chaos and fear gripping the town, stating, "Everything is upside down there. Everything is scary."

The eastern Donetsk region has become the new focal point of the ongoing conflict between Kyiv and Moscow-backed separatists since 2014. Ukrainian forces, facing a shortage of supplies and being outnumbered, have been forced to retreat from Ocheretyne and several other towns and villages. This retreat has created a gap that endangers larger towns in Kyiv-controlled parts of Donetsk.

Some Ukrainian soldiers with Brigade 155, responsible for defending Ocheretyne, expressed their frustration with their commanders' mistakes, citing inadequate support and poor decision-making. A retired Ukrainian general, General Serhiy Krivonos, argued that the high-rise apartment buildings in Ocheretyne should have served as a strategic deterrent against Russian troops.

On the Russian side, a pro-Kremlin military analyst blamed the fall of Ocheretyne on the mistakes of Ukraine's new commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, and the overall shortage of arms, ammunition, and air defense. The analyst cited the dire shortage of resources and claimed that when Syrskii ordered a withdrawal, panic ensued.

Analysts predict a major breakthrough for Russian forces, with Mikhail Zhyrokhov stating that the situation around Ocheretyne is expected to worsen, giving the Russians significant advantages. Nikolay Mitrokhin of Germany's University of Bremen further argued that the Russians could advance in multiple directions due to a large hole in the Donetsk front.

However, Ukrainian forces are not giving up. Despite the challenging circumstances, they are building heavily-fortified defense lines and resisting the Russian advance. The arrival of US military aid, including antitank missiles and 155mm-caliber shells, is expected to provide much-needed support to the outgunned Ukrainian troops.

While the situation remains precarious, there is cautious optimism among some analysts that the influx of Western aid will help stabilize the conflict. With the deficit in ammunition and manpower, the Ukrainian army is holding on as best as it can. One serviceman stated that once the aid is fully deployed, there will be potential for stabilizing the situation.

As the fighting intensifies and the Russian advance continues, the urgency to address the situation grows. The international community closely watches as Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression deepens, hoping for a resolution that will bring peace and stability to the region.