Heavy fighting in the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, has been going on for more than a year, and in recent months it has spilled over into the streets.
City pokrovsk in the Donetsk region has been a focal point on the front line for a long time Russian-Ukrainian war. Heavy fighting has been going on there for more than a year, and in recent months it has spilled over into the streets. In July, the Russians began to gradually infiltrate the city, a Ukrainian drone pilot told DW.
At the same time, it is very difficult to detect Russian soldiers. They look for passages, wait for favorable weather conditions and enter the city individually or in pairs. And when they get inside, they pose as civilians and remain undetected for months.
"According to my observations, the main problem is this infiltration. It is very difficult to distinguish enemy soldiers from civilians," an officer from a Ukrainian reconnaissance unit operating in the region told DW. He explains that Russian troops are advancing towards Pokrovsk with the help of a large number of drones and glide bombs. They use drones to set up ambushes, disrupt the logistics of the Ukrainian armed forces and destroy bomb shelters, it says DW.
Ukrainian military officials report that Russia's military currently has a two-fold advantage in Pokrovsk: it is outnumbered and has air superiority. Due to the large number of Russian drones, Ukraine is currently unable to counter the Russian Air Force. "Because of the drones, we can't move our air defense closer to the front. That would mean destroying expensive systems, and we don't even have enough planes to shoot down Russian Sukhoi bombers," says one of DW's sources.
All this resulted in the formation of a very long line of contact along the front near Pokrovsko, with a so-called "dead zone" stretching over 20 kilometers. However, the biggest problem for Ukrainian forces is that the Russians threaten their logistics. This significantly complicates the delivery of ammunition and technical equipment, the rotation of troops and the evacuation of the wounded.
"Logistics still works, but it is very risky. Most units advance on foot, and some have to travel tens of kilometers to reach their positions. Supplies are delivered by drone drops," says a Ukrainian scout in Pokrovsk.
According to one drone pilot, the cities that the Russians have now approached, including Dobropilje, Rodinske and Bilitzke, were bases of Ukrainian soldiers until recently. They served as transshipment points and logistics centers.
Now the distances that the Ukrainian army has to cover have increased, as well as the time it takes to do so. "When the Russians started destroying Ukrainian logistics routes, we felt they were taking over complete air superiority," says the soldier. The Ukrainian army now mostly has to reach its positions on foot, fully armed and with a ground robot used to deliver supplies. But it also makes the units a target for Russian drones.
As a drone pilot from the Ukrainian National Guard, who was deployed on the outskirts of Mirnograd, explains to DW, Russian tactics there also include advancing in small infantry groups.
According to representatives of the Ukrainian army, logistics were still functioning well in July and all necessary supplies were delivered daily. Since mid-August, however, drone pilots have had to leave their positions on foot and travel 12 kilometers to Rodinsky. By September, that distance had increased to 30 kilometers.
"Access to the positions is very difficult. There are only one or two land routes left, and one of them is under fire," says the soldier. Moreover, he adds, Ukrainian drone pilots now have to stay at their posts for 30 to 40 days straight.
Many refuse to take up positions on the outskirts of Mirnograd, fearing that the Russians will surround them.
Ruslan Mikula, co-founder of the DeepState analytical project, believes that the Russians are trying to establish themselves in Mirnograd and establish their logistics there. That would be an extremely unfavorable development for Ukraine. According to Mikula, Ukrainian forces would not be able to hold Mirnograd without Pokrovsk, and Pokrovsk itself would then become the main base for Russian troops. They would advance to an area with tall and densely built buildings, where they could house thousands of soldiers. At the same time, the positions of Ukrainian drone pilots, as well as the positions of Ukrainian electronic warfare and reconnaissance units, would have to be moved to forested areas.
"Losing Pokrovsk would be very painful, so I really hope it doesn't happen," a Ukrainian officer currently stationed near Pokrovsk told DW. "There is no other fortress like Pokrovsk with its skyscrapers, hills and so much concrete. It is a city that, as we say, is good for defense," the officer points out.
There is no similar city in the region. If Ukrainian troops lose Pokrovsk, Russian forces could move towards Kramatorsk, Slavyansk and Drushkivka. The defense of those cities would be much more difficult, notes the officer.
A Ukrainian military expert, who also wished to remain anonymous, told DW that he was convinced that the Russian leadership had given the army an order to conquer the Donetsk region so that it could negotiate with Ukraine and its Western allies from a position of strength. "Pokrovsk is considered part of that operation, the aim of which is to bring the highway between the cities of Bakhmut, Khasiv Yar, Kostyantinivka and Pokrovsk completely under Russian control. They could then advance further towards Pavlograd in the Dnipropetrovsk region," he says.
That is why the capture of the Pokrovsk-Mirnograd urban area is so important to the Russians as a starting point for further progress towards Pavlograd, but also north towards Drushkivka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. "That's why there are such fierce fights around Pokrovsk," explains the expert.
In an interview with DW, Austrian military expert Markus Reisner recalls that the situation around Pokrovsk has been constantly deteriorating for weeks. "Despite Ukraine's successes in repelling breakthrough attempts north of Pokrovsk, Russian pressure became so intense that they managed to penetrate, above all, into the southern parts of the city," he says, adding: "Basically, we will see the same developments that we have already seen many times in recent months and years in battles for key cities that we have already forgotten about."
However, the Russians failed to achieve the operational breakthrough they had hoped for. "Now, at the end of their failed summer offensive, we will see its culmination in the capture of some towns and villages - possibly in the coming days and weeks," Reisner concludes.
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