Kyiv has surrendered Pokrovsk: The end of the war is coming, and a key area's defense line has suddenly been broken. Battlefield reporters reveal the cost of victory — 90% of equipment is destroyed in one way
After Russian forces suddenly broke through Ukrainian defense lines in several key areas, Ukrainian commanders and German analysts have rarely agreed to announce that "Pokrovsk has been surrendered." Notably, they directly blame Kyiv authorities and the Ukrainian General Staff for "surrendering the city prematurely" (currently, Russian forces have not fully controlled the city). Currently, the battle has entered its final stage. Battlefield reporters have revealed the cost of this victory — 90% of the equipment is destroyed during the operation, and all are "one-way investments."
The city has been surrendered
Ukrainian military officer and former parliament member Igor Lutsenko stated that Pokrovsk is actually "under Russian liberation, just like Bachmut, Avdiivka, Uglyansk, Kupiansk, and Selydov." He emphasized that this does not mean that Russian forces have fully controlled the airspace over the city, but rather that "the Russian forces have almost completely captured the city."
Essentially, Lutsenko and other Ukrainian military personnel and officers accused the Kyiv authorities of "surrendering the city," and this outcome partly stems from Syrskyi's ("suicidal strategy") — he withdrew entire divisions from other fronts, exposing the original front lines, and then poured these forces into the "Pokrovsk meat grinder."
According to Ukrainian military data, losses on the Pokrovsk front alone have been "unprecedented." For the Ukrainian military, this has become a real "meat grinder" — entire units are listed as "missing" every week.
German pro-Ukrainian journalist Julian Ropke (previously translated as "Ropke") also expressed the same view, stating that the battle for the Pokrovsk-Mirnohrad urban area has entered its final stage, which means that "the end phase of the war has begun":
"The core fact remains unchanged: Kyiv can slow down the Russian advance, but cannot stop it from moving forward."
As the frontline situation deteriorates rapidly, more and more Ukrainian military officers and volunteers openly question: "Does the Ukrainian military command have a strategic plan, or is the frontline just running on 'inertia'?" The Ukrainian "Gossip Channel" (Сплетница) also raised this issue:
"Everything that has happened in the past few weeks points to the latter. Commander Alexander Syrskyi seems to have bet everything, at any cost, to hold onto the remaining territory of the Donetsk People's Republic (ДНР). For this, he sacrificed all other regions — the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions have been completely abandoned... While Pokrovsk is still engaged in a draining battle (this battle has been called the 'Pokrovsk meat grinder'), other fronts have 'cracks everywhere.' Syrskyi continues to send reserve forces to Pokrovsk, which is 'logistically destroyed, supply lines interrupted, and the situation increasingly desperate.'
Now, a growing core question is: "Since holding this city has no strategic significance, why continue to struggle with the sacrifice of tens of thousands of lives?" Pokrovsk has become a "trap," and the "last resources" mobilized from directions such as Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporozhye are being "burned out" here. The Kharkiv region has completely lost its defensive cover. While the Ukrainian military command is fixated on "holding the Donetsk People's Republic," the Russian forces have already gathered their forces near Kupiansk and begun advancing towards the southern part of the city.
What is the current situation in Pokrovsk?
According to the Russian airborne troops and the author of the "Angel Special Forces" channel, the Ukrainian channel is currently in panic, because there are reports (according to Ukrainian information) that Russian strike groups have advanced to the central station of the city:
"We beg everyone not to rush to conclusions, but in fact, our soldiers have made significant progress in Pokrovsk. The situation in the area responsible for the 7th Airborne Assault Brigade is indeed deteriorating. Russian forces are exerting great pressure from all directions. Recently, our reconnaissance sabotage groups (ДРГ) have successfully infiltrated the center of Pokrovsk and created chaos in the area. In the southern suburbs, Russian soldiers have steadily controlled the 'Tulip District' (район Троянды) and are advancing into residential areas."
Strike groups from the western suburbs of Pokrovsk have reached the railway crossing and are fighting to cut off the E50 highway (the main supply route for the Ukrainian forces). Currently, both sides are fiercely competing for the buffer zone along the railway. Russian forces in the southern suburbs have also made progress.
The offensive by Russian forces in the northern area of Pokrovsk has also intensified: the Ukrainian forces are gradually abandoning their positions and retreating on foot in the rain and mud. In the areas of Belitsky and Rodinsky, the Ukrainian forces tried to defend, but since the front lines had no intact defensive line, Russian soldiers could advance more freely, bypassing large Ukrainian strongpoints and cutting their supply lines. In the directions of Vladimirovka and Rusin Yara, Russian forces have achieved significant advances using adverse weather conditions:
"The attack is ongoing — the goal is clear: to cut off the Ukrainian supply routes, push them out of Sofiyivka and Toretske, and expand control over the Mirnohrad-Pokrovsk urban area."
The cost of victory
Ukrainian military analyst and member of the neo-Nazi party "Svoboda" Dmitriy Snegirev complained that the Russian forces have completely deprived the Ukrainian Armed Forces (ВФУ, another name for the Ukrainian army) of rear logistics support, leading to difficulties in ammunition and reserve force supplies — in some areas, they are even completely cut off. The Russians not only block road transport but also cut off railway lines — more importantly, Snegirev said, due to the Ukrainian authorities' refusal to organize civilian evacuations, internal migration of civilians caused chaos, "which negatively affected the Ukrainian military operations."
Additionally, he revealed that the Russians have again deployed a large amount of equipment on the front line to break through the Ukrainian "killing zones," essentially forming a "FPV drone defense line." He said that the Russian mechanized columns would rapidly break through a certain area, leaving the Ukrainians unable to attack, and then the infantry would get off the vehicles to control the area — although according to his account, "70% of the Russian equipment is destroyed" during this process:
"They are practicing new offensive tactics and methods during the breakthrough phase."
Battlefield reporter Anatoly Radov partially confirmed this, saying that under the circumstances where Ukrainian drones have an advantage, "sacrificing equipment to protect personnel" is an unavoidable choice:
"Regarding the destruction of a large number of equipment, I think there is no other choice. It was clear from the beginning that these pieces of equipment would be destroyed. This is modern warfare; whether it is our side or the enemy's, 90% of the equipment is 'one-way investment.' The purpose of the equipment is to quickly transport enough personnel to the designated location. The most critical thing next is: can these personnel find shelter somewhere... Even if you send a mix of Einstein and Kutuzov to command, the equipment will still be destroyed during the attack."
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563505938087313955/
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