The situation in Pokrovsk “continues to deteriorate”. Russia sent 11,000 soldiers to surround the city

Russian infantry have infiltrated the logistically important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine in large numbers, sparking street battles and threatening to encircle Ukrainian forces, according to Ukrainian media and soldiers on the ground, the Kyiv Post reports.

Russian soldiers in Donetsk PHOTO PROFIMEDIA

At least 200 Russian soldiers armed with automatic rifles, machine guns and portable rockets were moving freely in the southern districts of the city, launching attacks on Ukrainian forces largely maintaining control of the central and northern districts, according to public statements by Ukrainian officers to Ukrainian media, confirmed by military and civilian sources.

The situation is chaotic — drones dot the skies above the city and the presence of Ukrainian civilians has complicated Ukrainian efforts to locate and eliminate Russian infiltrators, an officer from the 68th Jaeger Assault Brigade, based in Pokrovsk, told Ukrainian news channel Espresso in an interview late Tuesday.

“Yes, very often we face situations where the enemy appears in Pokrovsk where we don't expect it,” said Veaceslav “Liuți”.

“The enemy turns out to take the form of mortar crews and drone pilots. The army is forced to engage in firefights and repel these enemy attacks. This greatly complicates our work. At the same time, the enemy changes into civilian clothes, disguising themselves. We cannot fire on civilians, but there are situations when a person in civilian clothes engages in firefights and causes damage to our positions,” he said.

According to the Espresso newspaper and other accounts from the Pokrovsk battle zone, Russian troops in the city are on foot and have no vehicles to move around and resupply. Most of the Russian infantrymen marched 10-15 kilometers along undermanned Ukrainian lines before reaching the city's southern industrial district and setting up hideouts in buildings, officer Veaceslav said.

Civilian and military sources based in Pokrovsk on Wednesday reported regular gunfire and artillery attacks, regular drone overflights, as well as a Russian glide bomb attack on a major bridge near the train station.

Russian bloggers on Wednesday posted images of a Russian flag flying near a sign marking the city's southern limits, and some social media groups reported the presence of Russian infantry there. Kyiv Post could not independently confirm these reports.

Vasyl Pekhno, a Ukrainian military reporter citing contacts on the ground in Pokrovsk and among combat units in the sector, in a situation report on Wednesday, said: “The situation in Pokrovsk is critical. Enemy drone pilots are already operating within the city limits… If we don't block the enemy's infiltration, we will lose Pokrovsk, the neighboring city of Mirnohrad, and if it happens, there will be heavy losses of soldiers.”

The independent analysis group DeepState confirmed on Wednesday Russian control of the southern districts of the city of Pokrovsk and only partial Ukrainian control of the central and northern regions of the city. Charts released by the group showed that Russian forces, in addition to infiltrating Pokrovsk, had advanced into machine gun range on the last supply road to the west, effectively putting the city under encirclement.

“The occupiers have blocked the key route between Pavlohrad and Pokrovsk,” DeepState analysts wrote. “The situation in Pokrovsk is on the verge of critical and continues to deteriorate to the point where it may be too late to do anything.”

The spokesman of the Ukrainian military admitted on Wednesday that the current situation in Pokrovsk is dangerous and confirmed the presence of Russian troops in Mirnohrad, which threatens Ukrainian communications.

“Currently, the enemy has penetrated the outskirts of Mirnohrad. At the same time, it is using artillery and unmanned systems, as well as infantry and technical means. Therefore, it is becoming very difficult now,” Hrihory Shapoval, the spokesman of the “East” operational command, said in a statement. “Our defense forces are trying to hold their positions, building fortifications, but the situation is quite difficult.” Kyrylo Sazonov, an officer in the 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, said in a Monday situation report on the fighting in the Pokrovsk sector that there was heavy fighting in the city.

“The enemy transferred everyone he could transfer from other sectors,” Sazonov wrote. “It's not too good news; the enemy has infiltrated the city, and it's not just two or three groups… It's hell in Pokrovsk now.” Sazonov said that the Russian infantry “is being phased out”, adding: “For this task, 'special forces' units specialized in urban warfare have been transferred to the area… In fact, these are full-fledged urban battles.”

Colonel Valentin Manko, head of Ukraine's elite Assault Infantry Forces, a service branch specializing in urban combat, said in a statement on Sunday that Pokrovsk was currently “the most important and most difficult sector” on the entire front, and his troops were conducting “clearance and security operations against the enemy sabotage groups that have infiltrated there … we will meet them on every street.”

Petro Kuzik, commander of the 4th Assault Brigade of the “Rubij” National Guard, said in an interview with Radio Liberty on Tuesday that the Russian attacks in his unit's sector caused heavy losses, as they spent days walking through terrain monitored by Ukrainian drones.

“Russian troops do not try to storm the fortified positions directly, but bypass them through dense orchards or gardens and forest areas. They operate in groups of several people, 'sneaking' between the battle formations and accumulating close to the city,” he said.

The Russians brought 11,000 troops to encircle the Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk

In an attempt to encircle the city of Pokrovsk, the Russians brought new troops, namely about 11,000 soldiers, around it, according to the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Ukrainian Airborne Forces, quoted by Unian.

“Regarding the probable nature of the enemy's actions in the Pokrovsk agglomeration, the enemy has brought about 11,000 more soldiers to implement their plan to encircle the Pokrovsk agglomeration (the city and its surroundings). The enemy groups that have infiltrated the city will most likely try to advance to the northwest and north of Pokrovsk,” the statement of the Ukrainian unit states, according to Agerpres.

In the area of ​​responsibility of the 7th Corps of the Ukrainian Assault Forces in that sector, the enemy has accumulated about 27,000 soldiers, about 100 tanks, about 260 armored fighting vehicles and up to 160 guns and mortars.

Russian military bloggers, quoted by Reuters, announced that the city – an important road and rail hub in the Donetsk region – would be almost completely surrounded.

“There is fierce fighting in the city and at the access roads to the city… Logistics are difficult. But we must continue to destroy the occupiers,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. The Chief of Staff of the Russian army, Valeri Gerasimov, had reported to Putin on Sunday that Russia had blocked a large number of Ukrainian soldiers in the area. Russian bloggers claim that Kiev has withdrawn its top units from this sector.

Pokrovsk is on a key route that has been used by the Ukrainian military for supplies.

The capture of the city of Pokrovsk, nicknamed the “gateway to Donetsk” by the Russian media, and of Konstantinivka, a locality located further northeast of it, which Russian troops are also trying to encircle, would give Moscow the opportunity to move north, towards the two largest cities remaining under Ukrainian control in Donetsk – Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Taking Pokrovsk would also allow Moscow to further disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and step up its long-running campaign to capture Ceasiv Iar, which sits on higher ground, potentially giving it control over a wider area.

Its capture would give Russia more options to attack Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, further west, which is not one of the areas claimed by Moscow, although it says it has established a small outpost there.