Pokrovsk fights in silent ruins. The millimeter war continues. “Russian attack will be repelled”

“Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are conducting counterattacks in the strategically located city of Pokrovsk, and the Russian attack there will be repelled,” General Syrski announced.

“Pokrovsk is a heavily fortified area. Yes, there are several places where the Russians managed to overcome engineering barriers, such as barbed wire or minefields, but the command knows exactly where they are,” reads a statement published by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army on Monday, November 10. “The intensity of enemy attacks has decreased for nowbut this does not mean that they have given up on their plans. “Ukraine is ready for any scenario.”

Pokrovsk, located at a strategic logistics point, was described by Vladimir Putin as a key goal in the Kremlin's campaign. Before the war, the city had a population of about 60,000. inhabitants.

In early 2025, Russian Federation forces launched an offensive to capture the city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video speech on November 7 that Russians lost 25,000 in October alone. soldiers, moving the front line by only 2 km.

Syrski, in a statement published by the New York Post, admitted that the situation in the Pokrovsk defense area is tense but remains under control.

Major Andriy Kovalev, spokesman for the general staff of the Ukrainian army, like Syrski, reported that the Ukrainian armed forces are under heavy pressure in the Pokrovsk sector, but Russian losses are high and Kiev's forces are maintaining their positions.

— The defense of the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration continues. The situation is difficult and dynamic. The enemy side uses all available reserves, but in return suffers huge losses, Kovalev said in an interview with the independent website RBC-Ukraine.

Both Ukrainian army spokesmen and combat information from units engaged in Pokrovsk indicate that Ukrainian and Russian infantrymen play a slow but deadly game of hide and seek and ambushes in the ruins of the city, with drones circling overhead, ready to attack anything that moves.

Evidence “from heaven”

Russian military propagandist Boris Rozhin, in a post about the fighting in Pokrovsk, claimed that the Ukrainian command had lost control over the situation, and the Russians were consistently moving forward. At the same time, he admitted – just like Ukrainian sources – that real fighting in the city is carried out by small groups of soldiers.

“Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are stationed near Pokrovsk… But if you look at the city through a drone camera, it is difficult to see anyone. Fighting continues, but Pokrovsk is not engulfed in flames. Gunshots are rarely heard. Both sides maintain their main forces at a distance of 10 km from the city.

Drones monitor all access roads – only the bravest will cross them alive…

There are fewer soldiers than civilians in the city. — wrote Rozyn on Sunday, November 9 on his LiveJournal blog.

The American Institute for the Study of War, in a report published on November 10, confirmed reports of fighting between small infantry units, a growing number of casualties on the Russian side and Ukrainian counterattacks. According to this analysis, the outcome of the Battle of Pokrovsk is still uncertain and further Russian attacks are likely.

“Russian advances in the north and west of the city have slowed in recent days – most likely due to Ukrainian counterattacks – but they continue to advance in the east and south,” the report reads.

On Sunday, November 9, the 425th Ukrainian Assault Infantry Regiment, an elite assault formation, published a video. It shows two- and three-person strike teams clearing destroyed houses and buildings. The official statement notes that the attacks are “careful, planned and precise.”

The 155th Independent Mechanized Brigade, the only combat formation of the Armed Forces trained in France, confirmed joint operations with assault infantry units in the Pokrovsk area. A recording from November 10, published on the unit's official channel on the Telegram platform, shows that most drone strikes hit Russian soldiers moving in open terrain.

Screenshot from a video published by the 155th Independent Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainet.me/ombr_155 / t.me/ombr_155

“Gods” from the General Staff

However, not everyone believes in the assurances of effective defense and huge losses of the enemy. During the battles of 2023–2024, leading Ukrainian military and politicians repeatedly announced that the front line would be maintained. However, soon the defense was collapsing under the weight of Russian attacks supported by artillery and aircraft. Often, the public learned about the defeat only when it was already certain – which is why some commentators consider Syrski's promise to hold Pokrovsk to be questionable.

“The enemy is still infiltrating Pokrovsk, where it is detected in almost every part of the city and then eliminated. The Russians are actively recruiting air crews to support the infantry and hinder any logistical activities of our troops. At the same time, they are trying to introduce mortars to put our logistics under even stronger fire,” wrote MP Mariana Beżuła, an open critic of Syrski and his command style.

I have warned about this many times. In the General Staff we have Syrski and only “gods” who do not even take into account the possible weakening of Ukrainian defense… Mr. President, are we going to deal with it at all?”

– she added.

Battlefield reports and geo-located video footage in the Pokrovsk area over the past two weeks generally confirm Ukrainian claims that Russian assault groups trying to enter parts of the city have in many cases been stopped.

One of the best documented clashes took place on October 29–30. The recordings published on November 9 show laughing Russian soldiers riding motorcycles and cars towards the south-eastern districts of the city. A day later, National Guard soldiers from the “Rubiezh” brigade released drone footage showing the scattered bodies of Russian soldiers on the same road.