Ukraine: The 4 points of Zelensky's plan to end the war
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko from the Information Resistance group called the situation east of Pokrovska “complete defensive failure”. “It's not the fault of ordinary soldiers who hold their positions,” he wrote on Telegram. “The problem lies with those who make the decisions for them,” pointing to Ukraine's leadership.
Soldiers in the region expressed concern about the state of defense positions around Pokrovsk. Zhenya, a soldier with the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, who fought in the ten-month battle of Bakhmut, described the rapidly deteriorating situation in Pokrovsk in a post on X, highlighting failures in the army's command structure. “Honestly, I have never seen anything like this before. Everything is falling apart so fast,' he wrote. “Pokrovsk will fall much faster than Bakhmut”.
Zelensky: “Extremely difficult” situation
The Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Novokhrontivka, 8 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk, which, according to the Center for Defense Strategies (CDS) in Kyiv, indicates a lack of defense resources, despite Pokrovsk's importance as a supply chain hub.
MP Marianna Bezula, a member of the defense committee in the parliament, posted photos on Facebook of her visit to the front line near Novokhrontivka. He stated that photographs show the road to Pokrovsk wide open. “The trenches in front of Novokhrontivka were empty. There was almost no Ukrainian army in the once-populous city of 20,000,” he wrote. General Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine's top military commander, said Thursday he visited the Pokrovsk region and is working em>”to strengthen the defense of our forces in the most difficult areas of the front, to provide a sufficient amount of ammunition and other logistical means to the brigades”.
< p>
NATO justifies Ukrainian invasion of Russian territory
Soldiers at artillery posts near Pokrovsk also highlighted the lack of projectiles and the Russians' severe ammunition superiority. “We're running out of bullets. We just don't have enough,” an artillery commander said, noting that many resources have been diverted north to Kursk. Over the past month, his unit has one missile for every six to eight fired by the Russians.
Russia still has the upper hand
Russian forces, on the other hand, maintain a significant tactical advantage, backed by powerful air and drone forces, as well as powerful artillery, the CDS think-tank said.
Stanislav Aseyev, a Ukrainian journalist and soldier in eastern front, warned of thepossible“destruction of the entire southern group of forces in the region, not just Pokrovsk”. “What can be done about Pokrovsk?” he asked rhetorically. “Unfortunately, the only option is to remove as many people as possible. I believe the city will soon cease to exist.”
The Frontelligence group said the Ukrainian leadership could still strengthen the front line by deploying new brigades or redirecting forces from other areas. However, if Pokrovsk falls, it could pave the way for Russian forces to advance on the city of Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth-largest city, further expanding their control.
