"The enemy performs quick maneuvers": the Russian Armed Forces are trying to use tricks to take Pokrovsk into a ring, — Syrskyi
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said this in a comment to The New York Post, stressing that the Pokrovsky area is now a priority for the enemy's actions. According to Sirskyi, Moscow is conducting a strategic offensive operation in the Pokrovsk region: the enemy has concentrated significant units and equipment there, creating a numerical advantage to break through the Ukrainian defense line.
The city, which had about 60,000 residents before the full-scale invasion, has become the epicenter of a new offensive in Donetsk region — its control opens up routes to key supply lines. The commander reported that approximately 150,000 military personnel from the existing groups have been deployed in the direction of Pokrovsk, as well as powerful mechanized groups and four marine infantry brigades.
According to his assessment, the enemy's goal is to surround the city from the north, south and east, cut off communications and displace the remnants of the civilian population. Syrsky sharply rejected the narratives of Russian propaganda about the alleged "fall" of Pokrovsky.
He recalled that after the counterattack in September, Ukrainian units inflicted heavy losses on the occupiers — which he said amounted to about 13,000 people — and liberated more than 165 square miles of territory, so the enemy's maps and statements do not reflect the real situation on the front. "They show these areas on their maps as if they are under control - this is not true," the commander-in-chief noted.
For months, Ukrainian defenders strengthened the defenses around the settlements near Pokrovsk, installing fortifications that reduce the effectiveness of enemy armored vehicles. Syrskyi emphasized: defense in urban buildings significantly complicates the advance of mass assault groups, so the enemy is forced to act in other, more resource-intensive ways.
In addition to the massive offensive, the enemy is intensifying sabotage operations in the rear and waging an information war, trying to undermine morale and sow doubts at home and abroad. "Battles are going on there and battles are raging. The enemy is constantly making quick maneuvers," Syrsky stated, describing the dynamics of the fighting in the Pokrov direction.
In order to maintain its advantage, Kyiv widely uses unmanned platforms to attack enemy command posts, operators and drone launch sites. The commander emphasized that for effective work, high-quality intelligence and long-range, high-precision ammunition are needed: "Our artillery is forced to attack far to the rear at longer distances. . . therefore, the importance of missiles is increasing.
" At the same time, intensive personnel training activities are underway: six-week training camps, express courses in radio-electronic warfare, countering drones and providing first aid, as well as practical field exercises with training drones — all of this is aimed at increasing the readiness of units that hold the protection front.
Syrsky also appealed to the world for additional supplies of missiles of various ranges, powerful air defense systems and electronic warfare equipment to reduce the night flow of enemy drones and strikes on critical infrastructure — power plants, bridges and factories. According to him, this is the highest priority for maintaining defense capability in the Pokrovsk region.
Despite the significant human and material resources that the enemy throws into the operation, as well as informational pressure from the Kremlin, Syrsky states: the strength and perseverance of the Ukrainian troops forced the enemy to pay a "bloody price" and actually changed the pace of the war in this region.
We will remind that, according to the founder of the "KRAKEN" unit, Kostiantyn Nemichev, Russian troops have once again crossed the state border of Ukraine in the Kharkiv Region in the Bologhivka region. Earlier, the head of the military administration in Myrnograd, Yuriy Tretyak, reported that the Russian Armed Forces are trying to advance into the city from the side of Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian units are not allowing them to gain a foothold.