Pokrovsk is fighting for heights to unblock parts of the Armed Forces: how the city is being lost, The Economist

The media wrote that the defense of the city "is nearing completion". According to journalists, today Ukrainians are fighting to unlock the parts that cannot get out of the "pocket". It is also noted that the loss of the settlement is a "significant blow", after which the Russian Armed Forces will be able to advance further on the front. To improve the situation, a special unit of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense arrived in Pokrovsk in two helicopters.

The Russians published fake videos about the destruction of the special forces, but the helicopters returned, although it is not known "to what extent the operation achieved its goals. " The media spoke with a fighter with the call sign Michael of the Typhoon drone unit, who is fighting in Pokrovsk, and with an unnamed top intelligence officer of Ukraine. Journalists recalled that the Russians are trying to enter Rodynske, a settlement north of the city.

They were already kicked out once, but the attacks continue. The enemy's goal is to occupy the heights to control the terrain. According to the interlocutors of The Economist, "several units" may be lost in Pokrovsk, while fighters in Myrnograd are surrounded. "The balance depends not so much on horizontal geography as on vertical dominance. Ukraine is fighting for the return of key heights in order to unblock units surrounded by the enemy further south," explained the scout.

The BpLA pilot noted that 60% of Pokrovsk is controlled by the Russians, and the rest is in the "gray zone". According to him, the advantage of the forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation over the Ukrainians is in the ratio "one-six, one-eight, one-ten, they continue to throw bodies at him. " In addition, the enemy has air superiority and employs two special tactics.

Firstly, the UAVs of the Russian unit "Rubikon" are not launched immediately at the target, but hover in the sky, looking for the best place to hit. Secondly, enemy drones have a longer range. "With more long-range drones, Russia's reach is several kilometers deeper. This means they can hunt down Ukrainian drone operators with near impunity," the media wrote.

The Economist concluded that Russia appears to have found a "terrible formula" for advancing on the front in Ukraine, but this advance is coming at the cost of huge manpower losses. On the other hand, the media talks about the miscalculations of the Ukrainian leadership, which "failed to start the construction of new underground fortifications. " "Pokrovsk is not the end of history, but should be a wake-up call.

It's time for everyone — [in Ukraine] and in the West — to stop messing around," the top intelligence officer emphasized in a conversation with a Western publication. On the map by DeepState analysts, the settlement has only four small areas painted in red, and the rest filled in gray: no changes since November 4. The distance between the edges of the gray "claws" that cover the Pokrovsko-Myrnograd agglomeration is 3 km.

It should be noted that on November 5, the military columnist of the German edition of Bild, Julian Röpke, claimed that the Russian Armed Forces control 80% of Pokrovsk. On the map of hostilities created by Röpke, the areas controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine were kept in the northern regions. Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced on November 5 that there is no encirclement in Pokrovsk, and the Defense Forces are holding logistics for the units holding the positions.