Battle for Pokrovsk How the Ukrainian army intends to smash the potential Russian cauldron

After many months of fighting, Russian soldiers advance to the center of Pokrovsk. Even the Ukrainian side is criticizing the fact that Kiev's army is now threatened with encirclement to the east of the city. So far, Moscow in particular has paid a heavy price in this battle. Will that change?

The Russian army has been struggling with Pokrovsk since mid-July 2024: before the war, the city in the Donetsk region had a population of 60,000. At the beginning of this year, it is said to have had 7,000.

15 months later, the battle for Pokrovsk appears to be entering its decisive phase: Moscow's men have moved ever closer to their objective from the south. On October 28, the BBC reported that the attackers had been able to establish themselves in the city and outnumbered the defenders eight to one.

The pro-Ukrainian DeepStateMap also shows the Kremlin's progress. Here is a comparison between October 20 and October 30:

The problem for the Ukrainian armed forces: now that the Russians have advanced in the south of Pokrovsk (1) and consolidated their position in the north-east of the city (2), the defenders in the east of Pokrovsk are threatened with encirclement. Ukrainian entrepreneur and YouTuber Serhii Sternenko also criticized this on X.

It's like your battles for Avdiivka, Vuhledar or Sudzha, Sternenko complains: "In each of these cases, the enemy cut off our logistics and the units were caught in the crossfire. Each time, our troops retreated at the last moment with heavy losses, leaving property and equipment behind. Not everyone was able to escape. Some stayed in their positions forever."

House-to-house fighting

It is too late for an orderly retreat, according to "Euromaidan Press" from Kiev: the 25th Air Assault Brigade, the 38th Marine Brigade and the 155th Mechanized Brigade are threatened with being trapped in the area east of Pokrovsk near the small town of Myrnohrad. The question remains: how was the Russian army last able to advance so far?

"Euromaidan Press" quotes sources who attest that the defenders are severely understaffed. Furthermore, the Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk were unable to make the most of their superiority because the Russians had more places to hide. This would have allowed the shock troops to gather there.

Other factors that favored the Russian approach: Firstly, artillery support and in particular the TOS-1A thermobaric artillery, which is particularly effective in more urban environments because it takes the air out of the defenders - even if they are crouching in a cellar.

The disadvantage is that the TOS-1A only has a short range, which is why it has to be brought close to the front line and quickly becomes easy prey for Ukrainian drone pilots. Furthermore, the weather can also favor Russian attacks if it is raining or foggy, for example, which reduces the effectiveness of the Ukrainian drones.

"The situation is difficult," admits the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces with regard to Pokrovsk, "but the claims of Russian propaganda about the alleged 'blockade' of the Ukrainian armed forces in Pokrovsk and Kupyansk are untrue."

Kiev sends special forces to Pokrovsk

According to Oleksandr Syrskyj, the Russians are avoiding confrontations: "The enemy infantry is concentrating within the built-up urban area, avoiding direct clashes and shifting their positions so that the main task is to localize and destroy them."

Reporting from Ukraine also contradicts Moscow's successful report that Myrnohrad is already surrounded. On the one hand, the troops there could also be supplied with drones. On the other hand, counterattacks are being carried out and Kiev is said to have sent reinforcements.

According to the report, the SSO special forces were sent to Pokrovsk, which are subordinate to the Ukrainian military intelligence service. They would hunt down the Russians who had made it into the city.

3 cases that show how tough the war is

If you just show maps, the war seems sterile. Here are three cases that show fates on the ground - without showing any bodies. In this first clip, Ukrainian soldiers from the 63rd Brigade take a Russian prisoner.

In this second clip, Ukrainian soldiers from the 25th Airborne Brigade evacuate comrades - the whole team gets into quite a bit of trouble. The danger of drones lurks everywhere.

The third case is about the Russian soldier Alexander, who has been taken prisoner of war. He belongs to the indigenous Keten people who live in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. In 2021, there were still 1088 Kets. The fact that one of them ended up in Ukrainian captivity is remarkable.

Alexander says he was tricked by the black widow scam: When he was drunk, he says, several men set upon him, first forcing him to marry and then dragging him to a recruitment office. If he had fallen, his "wife" and the gang would have collected the state bonus for his death.