Russia is within nearly 4 miles of Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian city, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Through geolocated footage, the U.S.-based independent think tank found that, as of December 10, Russia has been making critical advances south of Pokrovsk. Its forces have attacked western Novyi Trud and along a highway south of Dachenske, and hit Ukrainian fortifications on the outskirts of Shevchenko on December 11.
Pokrovsk, located just 11 miles from the boundary between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, is a critical city for Russia to pursue as it is an important logistics center for the Ukrainian military in the east. The city is also known for being home to Ukraine’s only domestic coking coal supplier, which produces a key ingredient for its steel industry.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for comment via email.
Stanislav Krasilnikov/Associated Press
A Ukrainian crowdsourced troop advancement monitoring website, Deep State, places Russian troops even closer to Pokrovsk than the ISW does, at approximately 2 miles away.
Serhiy Filimonov is a Ukrainian commander of the 108 Separate Battalion known as the “Da Vinci Wolves.” He has expressed his concern about Russia’s progress near Pokrovsk and said that “the situation is critical, catastrophic. If we don’t take action now, we will lose the city of Pokrovsk in the near future,” according to the Ukrainian outlet Public Broadcasting.
Filimonov added: “The Russian battalions are replenished every month by at least 200 people. They are withdrawn and completely restored, so the number of units and the number of enemy manpower is usually off scale. But, near the detachment’s position, 15-20, 30 and even 50 enemy units can be destroyed in a day.” Filimonov also said that Ukraine is facing ammunition shortages, and his battalion has faced up to 30 Russian attacks daily.
Ukraine has said that Russia has more than 70,000 troops on the city’s front and is sending in “reconnaissance and sabotage groups” into the village of Shevchenko.
Kyiv is deploying unconventional solutions as Russian troops close in on Pokrovsk, as Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that “Custom decisions have to be made to increase the resilience of defense and more effective destruction of occupiers” in a post on Facebook.
In its report, the ISW wrote that Russia’s efforts to make advances on and eventually seize Pokrovsk do not come without cost. The nonprofit wrote: “The Russian command has resumed offensive operations to seize Pokrovsk via a turning maneuver from the south, but that this maneuver is coming at a massive cost to Russian manpower and equipment. Another Ukrainian brigade officer reported that Russian forces lost nearly 3,000 personnel in the Pokrovsk direction in two weeks.
“Continued Russian losses at this scale will impose a mounting cost on Russia’s already-strained force generation apparatus. Russian forces may well continue making gains toward Pokrovsk, but the losses they are taking to do so will temper their ability to translate these gains into more far-reaching offensive operations,” the ISW added.
In a televised statement about the situation in Pokrovsk, military spokesman for the eastern front Nazar Voloshyn said: “As a result of prolonged clashes, two of our positions were destroyed, one was lost. Currently, measures are being taken to restore positions.”
Although Russia has made gains advancing toward the city at its fastest rate since the beginning of the war in October and November, the costs of manpower and equipment may outweigh their advances and prevent further fighting.
Russia has lost more than 750,000 soldiers since the war began in February 2022, and Moscow’s equipment losses hit a two-year high in November.
