By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv (EFE).- While the defending army continues a heated resistance in Pokrovsk, having exposed Russia’s claims of its capture as premature, Russia’s drones keep disrupting vital supply lines, and its infantry accumulates in the city, prompting calls in Ukraine about the need to exit Pokrovsk.
Ukraine has been sending additional assault units and special operatives into the area, which has resisted Russia’s attacks for over a year, the 7th Corps of its army reported on Monday.
In particular, the unit said, the Defense Forces “stopped the expansion of Russian presence” in the north of the city and prevented the enemy from cutting the road connecting Pokrovsk and Rodynske.
Ukrainian defense
Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed earlier that Ukrainian forces are pushing the enemy out of Pokrovsk, a key objective of Russia’s ongoing attempt to capture the entirety of the Donetsk region.
However, despite local successes in parts of the area, the situation overall remains dire, according to multiple sources.
For two days in a row, the DeepState analytical platform showed Russian advances in the center and west of the city, without specifying when they occurred.
The situation is “not under control” as it is extremely difficult to detect and hunt down small groups of Russian soldiers now present in most of the city, Viacheslav “Lutyi,” drone battalion commander of the 68th Brigade, told Espreso TV on Monday.
“Our command intends to stabilize the frontline, but numerous Russian soldiers are infiltrating and moving around chaotically,” he said.
A possible withdrawal
The reports of Ukraine’s military command are made up of “more and more lies,” former deputy minister of defense Vitaliy Deinega wrote on his Facebook account.
“We have practically lost Pokrovsk, which means that there is no point in holding Mirnograd either,” he said, referring also to the satellite city which relies on logistics through Pokrovsk.
The failure to withdraw troops soon would not only result in the loss of many motivated soldiers, according to Deinega.
“We may find ourselves in a situation where there is no one to patch up the hole in the front, and the fortifications dug in our rear will quickly fall to the enemy,” he said.
Two units of Ukraine’s military intelligence, allegedly sent there last week, cannot reverse the situation in a city where several brigades and regiments are already fighting, military blogger and drone operator Yuriy Butusov also noted on Facebook.
“The challenge is to ensure logistics and the freedom of maneuver for those who are already there,” he said, amid reports that Russian drones destroy all vehicles that try to deliver ammunition and medicines, forcing soldiers to walk for kilometers to reach positions.
Ukrainian observers have compared the evolution of the battle with the Russian counter-offensive in Kursk this winter, noting that the situation in Pokrovsk began to deteriorate with the arrival of Russia’s “Rubikon” drone unit this spring.
“Like in Kursk, the enemy first took control of all logistical routes with drones. Then it pressed with infantry,” military correspondent Yulia Kyrienko-Merinova said, noting that Ukraine’s military command has so far failed to find a solution, despite the increasing use of drones to compensate for the shortage of troops.
The fight continues
The city’s defense is not yet doomed, military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said on Monday in an analysis for the Information Resistance group.
He noted that the dismissal of the commander of Russia’s 51st army shows that Moscow’s command has been dissatisfied with the reality on the ground, contrary to claims by top general Valeriy Gerasimov that Ukrainian forces have been “blocked.”
Instead of focusing solely on encircling Pokrovsk, the Russian unit attempted to advance towards Dobropillia, but achieved neither, Kovalenko told EFE.
Between 3 and 8 kilometers still separate the two groups of Russian forces seeking to encircle Pokrovsk from the west and east, giving hope to the Ukrainian forces that keep counterattacking north-east of Pokrovsk to relieve pressure on the defenders. EFE
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