Amidst the Siege of Pokrovsk, Ukraines Struggle for Survival Intensifies

KYIV, Ukraine — Intense combat persists in the eastern city of Pokrovsk as Russian forces continue their extended campaign to capture this key industrial center in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Previously home to around 60,000 residents, Pokrovsk has endured more than 18 months of unrelenting bombardment, and the battle for control of the city has reached a pivotal moment.

Western military experts indicate that Russian troops have gradually advanced into the southern outskirts of Pokrovsk, wearing down Ukrainian defenses and taking advantage of deteriorating late-autumn weather to position personnel and equipment near the front lines. They emphasize that the conflict has turned into a protracted war of attrition, stretching Ukrainian forces thin.

«The primary issue is logistics,» remarked Artem, a Ukrainian drone operator engaged in combat near Pokrovsk, who requested that only his first name be used. «The roads are completely clogged with Russian drones. No vehicle can enter or exit the city without being immediately detected.»

Despite these challenging circumstances, various Ukrainian units, including those from the 25th, 7th, and 68th brigades, continue to maintain their positions in Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad, located roughly seven kilometers to the east.

Artem noted that skirmishes have escalated in recent weeks as Russian forces renewed mechanized assaults.

«They send around ten armored vehicles toward our positions at once,» he shared with The Moscow Times. «We usually manage to destroy them quickly, but with the fog, rain, and low winter clouds, our response time has slowed. We eliminate most, but some still manage to infiltrate and deploy troops within the city.»

Military analyst Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated that Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps — responsible for that area since July — has faced challenges due to deteriorating conditions and limited supplies. With restricted maneuverability, commanders have had to move scarce resources from one vulnerable spot to another.

On the ground, Russian units have advanced into the Shakhta district, the city’s industrial core.

«Once they gain a foothold, it’s nearly impossible to dislodge them,» Artem said. «They conceal themselves in basements and tunnels, await reinforcements, and advance from house to house.»

Similar to Bakhmut before it, Pokrovsk has emerged as a symbol of Ukrainian resilience and is one of the last major cities in southern Donetsk that Russians must secure before attempting to advance toward the cities of Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk.

During a visit to a military hospital in Moscow last month, President Vladimir Putin claimed Pokrovsk was already surrounded, a statement promptly refuted by Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s chief general, who stated earlier in November that Ukrainian forces «must withstand the pressure from an enemy force of several thousand men, which continues to attempt to infiltrate residential areas and sever our supply routes.» However, Syrski clarified, «there is neither encirclement nor blockade» of the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky affirmed this viewpoint, asserting that the Russian military’s «top objective is to seize Pokrovsk as swiftly as possible.» He highlighted the rapidity of recent attacks, with 220 assaults occurring in just three days. Military data he referenced indicated that approximately 314 Russian troops are already operating within the city.

Given its symbolic significance, the battle for Pokrovsk holds substantial political implications for both Kyiv and Moscow. Like Bakhmut and Avdiivka, it raises questions about how long Ukrainian commanders will continue to defend the city and whether they may ultimately order a coordinated withdrawal to defensive positions on the outskirts.

However, Artem, the Ukrainian drone operator, expressed to The Moscow Times that the situation in nearby Myrnohrad is also deteriorating and that defending the town is becoming increasingly challenging. He believes the higher command should consider an evacuation, although he fears «it may already be too late.»

He seems to be supported in his concerns by open-source investigators, who utilized drone footage to confirm the presence of Russian reconnaissance troops beyond a major highway linking Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk, east of the village of Rivne. The video depicted Russian soldiers capturing a Ukrainian serviceman.

The control of that critical intersection suggests that Ukrainian forces engaged in the Pokrovsk area, as well as those south of Myrnohrad, may now find themselves partially encircled.

Nevertheless, as the situation evolves rapidly, pinpointing the stability of the front lines remains a challenge.

«It’s complete chaos; it’s hard to ascertain our troops’ positions,» Artem remarked. «The front has become so penetrable that Russian soldiers could be behind our lines and vice versa. It’s a battle house by house now.»

This instability, he added, could paradoxically assist encircled Ukrainian troops in escaping on foot if a withdrawal is ordered. «It’s a trek of over ten kilometers under constant drone surveillance,» Artem noted, «yet it’s still achievable.»

Artem believes that Ukraine has already met its primary objective in Pokrovsk: forcing Russia to commit personnel and resources to this conflict over the past year, significantly diminishing their strength.

However, he sees little reason for celebration. «For the Russians, the lives of the men they send to die are inconsequential. They will always have more,» Artem told The Moscow Times. In his view, true success lies in destroying as much Russian equipment as possible, fortifying rear defensive lines, and buying time.

According to analyst Kofman, the current circumstances are more favorable for Ukraine compared to the situation around Avdiivka in 2024.

Kofman points out that Russian troops are lacking momentum following an offensive that depleted much of their combat capabilities. They are advancing slowly and struggle to maintain significant pressure along the front line. Their current tactics largely rely on small infantry groups moving on foot, infiltrating buildings and defensive positions while awaiting reinforcements.

Without the ability to deploy armored vehicles or tanks to capitalize on these advances, their assaults remain limited and have not led to any decisive breakthroughs, Kofman notes.

If Pokrovsk falls, Russian forces could operate drones directly from within the city, transforming it into a forward base to push Ukrainian units further west.

Sébastien Gobert, a French journalist and author of a book on Ukrainian oligarchs, believes that Pokrovsk is likely irretrievably lost and that the critical question now is how to prepare for the next major offensive.

«The city has not yet fallen, but we must start learning from this battle,» he told The Moscow Times. «We need to reflect on Ukraine’s capacity to endure in future engagements, especially regarding human resources.»

Gobert highlighted long-standing issues in Ukraine’s mobilization, recruitment, and training, challenges that surfaced in 2022 and 2023 and persist unresolved. Meanwhile, Russia continues to recruit thousands more soldiers each month than Ukraine.

«Pokrovsk represents another test for Ukraine,» Gobert stated. «It will determine whether the high command opts to safeguard its troops or hold onto the city as it did in Bakhmut until the very last moment to inflict maximum losses on the enemy. The command is already facing significant criticism for its prolonged presence.»

He emphasized that the battle has evolved into a political test as much as a military one—an indicator of trust between Ukraine’s government, its armed forces, and society. The military objective, he noted, has already been lost, with Pokrovsk on the verge of falling.

What remains to be seen is the question of trust: whether the public and the military will sustain their faith in the nation’s leadership after the city is lost.

«When Pokrovsk falls,» he added, «the front will not crumble on its own, but this new challenge will gauge Ukraine’s resilience and capability in upcoming battles.»