Russian units intensified operations around Pokrovsk over the past week, with diversionary groups slipping into the city.
Ukrainian reports say Moscow is sending poorly trained troops to draw drone and artillery fire and expose defensive positions before better-trained assault infantry moves in, repeatedly attacking along the same routes despite heavy losses.
Analysts from the Deep State project, linked to Ukraine’s military intelligence, said Russian forces advanced more than a kilometer in Pokrovsk and are pushing from the south, leaving Ukrainian troops—reinforced by special units—in control of a diminishing zone.
Ukrainian military sources and Russian bloggers reported Russian infiltration in the city’s north and gains in its northeast, central and southern sectors. Ukraine said it reclaimed ground north of Zatyshok.
On Sunday, the General Staff said defenders retook about 400 square meters in the Pokrovsk direction, likely from recent tactical counterattacks north and northwest of the city.
A Ukrainian battalion commander said Russian assault groups are skirting strongpoints to penetrate rear areas while other units press frontal attacks. A Ukrainian NCO in the sector reported fewer Russian strikes toward Kostyantynivka after a failed assault on October 27.
On Saturday, a military blogger said Moscow has prioritized capturing Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad before turning again to Kostyantynivka.
Kyiv says the fight for Pokrovsk carries tactical weight for the Kremlin: seizing the city could link Russian groupings operating from the Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka axes, enable a push deeper into Dnipropetrovsk region, open the way to take nearby Myrnohrad, and threaten to encircle Ukrainian forces.
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Source: Polskie Radio 24, IAR