Today, there are a lot of important updates from the Pokrovsk direction in Donetsk Oblast.
The Russians are sending waves of infantry assaults across the Pokrovsk direction, throwing bodies at the front in a desperate attempt to stall the Ukrainian advance. But with no armor, no cover, and no chance of surprise, they’re being met with the brutal efficiency of Ukrainian machine gun nests that are mowing down reckless Russian assaults that have backfired hard.
The goal of the Russians in this area is to stall the Ukrainian counteroffensive effort and prevent them from regaining the operational initiative. This is because of the Ukrainian tactical successes, which resulted in them retaking several key positions at Pishchane, Kotlyne, Shevchenko, and Solone—allowing them to tighten the noose around the Russian western flank.
Command scrambles, cars replace tanks
Continued Ukrainian advance would result in the complete elimination of the Russian pincer, which is why the Russian forces are doing everything they can to preserve it at any cost—throwing endless waves of meat-wave assaults at the Ukrainian lines. This way, the Russian commanders hope to overwhelm the Ukrainian forces with sheer numbers, hoping Ukrainians would be forced on the defensive and cease their offensive efforts on the western flank of Pokrovsk.
However, the Russians had already exhausted their reserves in this area, running out of steam for continued assaults. To solve this, Russian commanders redeployed forces from other sectors of the front, allowing them to fulfill their manpower needs for the meat-wave assaults. However, they could not solve the problem of a shortage of armored vehicles, as the issue was gripping Russians all over the front line in Ukraine.
As you might remember, the lack of armored vehicles forced Russians to use civilian cars and pickup trucks for their assaults instead. With the problem “solved” in the eyes of the Russian high command, Russian forces increased the intensity of their attacks to the same level as during their initial attempt to take Pokrovsk in a pincer. However, contrary to how Russians gained significant ground during that time, they barely made any advancements at all.
Drones strike, defenders dominate
Zooming into Uspenivka to use an example: Ukrainians used drones to scatter landmines across the main hardened road Russians used. Additionally, Ukrainian drone operators targeted any Russian vehicle moving into the settlement, as well as any Russian soldiers that managed to dismount and tried to move into the buildings. In this way, a single Ukrainian drone team reported they were eliminating up to 20 Russian soldiers a day—further underscoring the high casualty rate of Russian tactics.
Additionally, geolocated combat footage reveals how periodic heavy rain made the unmaintained frontline roads extremely slippery, causing one driver to lose control of the vehicle and drive straight into a landmine placed on the side of the road.
Additional footage shows how Russians drove one Bukhanka van up to Uspenivka, which a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone had already detected on the approaches. This allowed the Ukrainian fighters in the settlement to quickly leave their concealed positions and set up a machine gun to meet the Russian assault head-on. Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on the vehicle, which provided zero protection for the Russian soldiers crammed inside, as the bullets tore through the vehicle.
After this, the Ukrainian fighters quickly and safely returned to their concealed positions, ready to repulse the next Russian car assault.
Aftermath footage shows how the Ukrainian machine gun had utterly devastated the Russian van—igniting the exposed fuel tank and leaving the vehicle a burning wreck as fallen Russian soldiers lay around it, most of whom did not even make it off. The footage also shows a high number of destroyed Russian civilian cars scattered in front of the town, signaling that Russians continue to launch assaults with the same tactic, despite failing time and time again.
Overall, the Russians are trying to stall the Ukrainian offensive by throwing a continuous wave of bodies at Ukrainian lines. While this is effective only in terms of results, Ukrainians are allowing the already depleted Russian forces to destroy their combat capabilities even more. In the meantime, Ukrainians continue to find weak spots that are ready to be exploited, improving their position on the front.
In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
