Russian troops penetrated the Ukrainian defense to a depth of 10-12 kilometers north of Pokrovsk, according to data from the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState. The villages of Kucheryov Yar and Zolotoy Kolodez in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region are partially captured. In four days, Russian troops advanced 12 km, which is a very high pace for this stage of the war. Now Russian forces are gathering there to consolidate their success and establish their positions, analysts of the project write.
Deepstate predicts that, having secured the occupied settlements, the Russians will pull drone crews deeper into the front.
CIT analyst Ruslan Leviev* stated on the air of the TV channel «Dozhd»** that the breakthrough occurred due to a shortage of infantry on the Ukrainian side. «The front line now is practically a sieve, where separate groups of Russian soldiers can pass by Ukrainian positions — and we have repeatedly seen how they walk around freely», he said. Leviev believes that Ukrainian troops urgently need to shorten the front line, that is, gather units from more protected areas and redeploy them to critical points. Otherwise, the AFU risks facing a developing offensive on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Military analyst Yan Matveev* believes that the resulting bulge cuts through the Donetsk front. If the RF Armed Forces manage to securely consolidate and expand it — they can move west, to Dobropillya — and cut off the crucial supply route to Pokrovsk, which is already partially surrounded. Also, the RF Armed Forces can advance east, to the outskirts of Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka. The AFU has only 3-4 days to try to cut off this bulge.
The AFU Commander-in-Chief Syrsky allocated additional forces to stop the RF Armed Forces' offensive in the Pokrovsk direction, reported the speaker of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Major Andriy Kovalev. Although earlier the speaker of the Operational-Strategic Group of Forces of the AFU «Dnipro» Viktor Tregubov stated that the information about the breakthrough does not correspond to reality. «As of now, the situation in the Pokrovsk and Dobropillya directions is somewhat confusing for those who do not understand how maps are compiled based on open sources», he noted.
The activation of the offensive is happening against the backdrop of preparations for a meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska. However, according to Leviev, the RF Armed Forces' breakthrough is unlikely to be directly related to it, it is more likely due to the situation on the front and the numerical superiority of the Russians.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».
** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
Photo: AP