At least 250 Russians in Pokrovsk, Ukrainian troops walk 10-15 km to reach positions – UP
Ukrainska Pravda has learnt that at least 250 Russian troops are in Pokrovsk – they are engaging in firefights and killing Ukrainian soldiers, particularly drone operators, at their positions. Logistics into the city are fully controlled by Russian drones, forcing Ukrainian soldiers to walk 10-15 km to reach their positions. The situation is beyond critical.
Source: officers from two brigades operating in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, speaking to Ukrainska Pravda
Details: After a Ukrainian mop-up operation in July, Russian forces re-entered Pokrovsk around mid-August.
Since then, the Russians have established several staging areas in and around the city – near the railway, between Pokrovsk and Hryshyne and along the Dachenke-Novopavlivka-Hnativka line.
These groups are the ones killing Ukrainian troops inside Pokrovsk.
Two officers from a brigade defending the city confirmed that Russian troops have been shooting and killing Ukrainian UAV operators and engaging artillery and anti-tank units in direct combat inside the city.
Ukrainian troops are still holding positions south of Pokrovsk, although communication with them is minimal. Some of these positions are located between Russian lines.
Others, Ukrainska Pravda has found, exist only on maps – either occupied by wounded soldiers or abandoned entirely. Ukrainian defenders are facing a catastrophic shortage of infantry.
Quote from the first officer: "Infantry is practically cut off from command. We can hear them on the radio and we try to deliver water to them with drones. They've been on the positions for two and a half to three months. For our brigade, that's long – we usually rotate people. In Pokrovsk itself, there are at least 250 of those bastards, probably more. There's fighting on almost every street; we have casualties every day.
We can't evacuate the wounded – some of the positions in forested areas are already under enemy control. By miracle, we managed to pull out two infantrymen this morning who reached the outskirts of Pokrovsk, but then an FPV drone hit, and both are in a critical condition. The last soldier that was killed weighed 110 kg – it took six men to carry him, and four injured their backs.
The biggest problem is logistics. You can drive part of the road, but then you have to walk 10-15 km, carrying ammo, drones and supplies. The entire route is under FPV drone surveillance via fibre optics. There are many loitering drones and remote-mined areas where soldiers are killed every day. The ground-based robotic systems arrived too late."
Details: The worsening situation in Pokrovsk also affects its satellite town, Myrnohrad, since Ukrainian logistics to Myrnohrad go through Pokrovsk – a 20-km supply route. Ukrainian troops have spotted Russian forces on Myrnohrad's northern outskirts. The defenders risk encirclement.
Quote from the second officer: "Things are unfolding according to the worst scenario. Pokrovsk is collapsing too fast; we didn't expect this. There are some of those bastards in northern Myrnohrad, small groups infiltrating from the south, but overall it's still better than in Pokrovsk.
But if Pokrovsk falls, there'll be no way out for the Myrnohrad units. Our logistics route to Myrnohrad is over 20 km. It's almost impossible to rotate units. We can't recover the fallen. The Russians are pressing from Rodynske; Chervonyi Lyman is already under their control. The people are working at their limit, fully aware that encirclement is drawing closer."
Why this matters: The situation in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad has been deteriorating for months and is now critical. Russian forces maintain air superiority – FPV drones constantly patrol the roads, waiting for vehicles, making logistics for Ukrainian units nearly impossible.
Both Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad have been encircled by Russian drones for months, and by late October, risk full encirclement on the ground.
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