Putin's army is attacking an important city. This is how the Russians gain the advantage in it

Since November 6, the Russians have been bringing equipment to Pokrovsk – motorcycles, pickup trucks – and placing their mortars there. The city is in a “drone encirclement”. Attempts to “clean” it by Ukrainian special units were too late and did not change the balance of power in the city, admitted the Ukrainska Pravda portal.

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The first mention of Russians entering the city in a military pickup truck, and not on foot – as was the case before – appeared on the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian branch of Hostri Kartuza. In the short footage, Russian soldiers could be seen removing engineering barriers and advancing further into the city.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the weather is currently favorable to Russians. There is thick fog over Pokrovsk, which prevents reconnaissance using drones. The Russians have introduced their mortars into the city and are shelling the positions of Ukrainian drone operators. Therefore, organizing observations over the city is very difficult, the portal said.

War in Ukraine. Russians enter the city on motorbikes

On November 10, a video appeared on social networks showing Russians entering the city with a whole column of motorcycles and cars, as well as moving on foot – and no one tried to stop them. Several interlocutors confirmed the authenticity of the recording to Ukrainska Pravda. The video was recorded on the southern outskirts of the city – from the direction of the village of Novopavlivka and the exit towards Selydowy. According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, attempts were made to shoot at this column, but due to the thick fog it was extremely difficult.

According to the RBK-Ukraina website, the most difficult section of the front in the Donetsk Oblast is currently the Pokrov-Myrnograd agglomeration. For several months in a row, the Russian army sent its small infantry groups there, trying to detect weak points in the city's defenses. According to estimates presented by Ukrainian military officials in an interview with RBK-Ukraina, there may be between 300 and 500 Russian soldiers currently in Pokrovsk.

“In Pokrovsk, our soldiers are literally mixed with the Russians. The fighting takes place mainly using drones. In Myrnohrad, our boys are maintaining their positions. Although the Russians are not pressing directly on the city itself, they know that it will be easier for them to break through the flanks and close the encirclement. Then they will capture Myrnohrad without serious fighting,” said one of the interlocutors of the RBK-Ukraina portal.

“The situation there is very difficult, but there has been a reaction.”

As for the current zones controlled by Ukrainians and Russians in Pokrovsk, according to several editorial sources and OSINT observers, it is as follows: the southern and southwestern parts of the city are under the control of Russian troops, the central part around the railway line is the so-called gray zone, while the northern part of the city remains under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to RBK-Ukraine sources in the Ukrainian army, the Russians want to capture Pokrovsk by December 15 – this is their next new “deadline”. According to the portal, the Ukrainians have a chance to hold the agglomeration until the end of the year unless something “unexpected” happens, e.g. if one of the battalions withdraws from its positions or if the Russians do not send significant reinforcements there.

“The situation there is very difficult, but there has been a reaction. The president (Volodymyr Zelensky), during a staff meeting, gave an order to bring the situation in Pokrovsk under control by November 10, and in Kupyansk by November 15. The instruction was clear: action should be taken to prevent further Russian advances or the encirclement of our troops,” one of the well-informed army interlocutors told RBK-Ukraine anonymously.

The portal's source noted that due to the difficult situation, “almost everyone” was brought to Pokrovsk, and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrski, is personally dealing with the situation on this sector of the front. “Therefore, the issue of withdrawing from there is not currently being considered at all. The situation in Kupyansk is worse than in Pokrovsk, because all attention is now focused on Pokrovsk,” the source added.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Zelensky said that the most attention is currently paid to the Pokrov region and the Zaporizhia Oblast, where the Russians are increasing the number and scale of attacks. “The situation there is difficult, especially due to weather conditions that favor attacks. But we are still destroying the occupier,” the head of state assured.