Battle for Pokrovsk: The Independent reported on the sudden shift in tactics by Russian forces.

The advance of Russian troops on the Pokrovsky front is primarily conducted by small infantry groups that utilize villages and tree lines to establish their positions.

https://www.unian.net/war/bitva-za-pokrovsk-the-independent-obyasnil-pochemu-gorod-mozhet-stat-samym-vazhnym-v-voyne-12902262.html2025-02-01 07:23:43

Russian forces are intensifying their offensive around the strategically significant Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, threatening key supply lines and raising concerns about a potential encirclement. This is reported by The Independent.

"The situation is overall complicated; the enemy is constantly attacking on foot," said the deputy commander of Ukraine's 59th Assault Brigade, which is engaged in combat on the Pokrovsk front.

According to the officer, the enemy has a significantly larger number of infantry, attacking in small groups, willing to sustain very high casualties, and skillfully using the landscape and poor visibility to evade drones.

Victor Tregubov, a representative of the Ukrainian military, stated that the Russians are attempting to bypass and encircle Pokrovsk from the west. He noted that this differs from their approach to capturing previous major urban areas, where they preferred costly frontal assaults and street fighting. He said:

"It seems that, perhaps for the first time, they have started to conserve their forces."

According to Tregubov, the offensive by Russian troops on the Pokrovsk front is mainly conducted by small groups of infantry using villages and forest belts to establish themselves.

The deputy commander of the 59th Assault Brigade of Ukraine stated that recently the Russians have begun to employ a new tactic: sending infantry squads of three to four men deep into the territory to set ambushes for Ukrainian soldiers and equipment using anti-tank mines.

He added that overall, over the past month, the attacks have become slightly less intense, and Russian artillery is firing less than it did six months ago.

Analyst Pasi Paroinen from the Finnish company Black Bird Group believes that Ukraine is struggling to fend off small infantry attacks from Russia due to a lack of its own forces and resources to fully cover the front line. He added:

"Ukrainian units simply lack infantry."

The War in Ukraine - Frontline Situation

Russian occupiers have captured Novomlynsk and have also advanced near Rovnopol, Razdolne, Yantarnoye, Petropavlovka, Baranovka, and in Udachnoye. This is reported by the monitoring project DeepState.