{"id":1321390,"date":"2025-11-17T10:31:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/pokrovsk-holds-out-ukrainian-armed-forces-destroy-enemy-column-advancing-under-cover-of-fog\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T06:14:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T04:14:41","slug":"pokrovsk-holds-out-ukrainian-armed-forces-destroy-enemy-column-advancing-under-cover-of-fog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/pokrovsk-holds-out-ukrainian-armed-forces-destroy-enemy-column-advancing-under-cover-of-fog\/","title":{"rendered":"Fog of War Fails: Ukrainian Forces Turn Russian \u2018Stealth\u2019 Column Into Scrap Metal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia has massed roughly 150,000 troops in the Pokrovsk sector, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky told The New York Post. Despite the overwhelming numbers, Ukrainian forces are holding the line and preventing Russian infantry from securing any positions in the city.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The General Staff stated it.<\/p>\n

More than 300 Russian troops have pushed into Pokrovsk and are attempting to reach its northern outskirts, the 7th Corps of the Ukrainian Air Assault Troops reports. Taking advantage of poor weather, Russian units entered the city in light vehicles through the southern edge. Dense fog has limited aerial reconnaissance, yet Ukrainian forces continue to detect and destroy enemy groups even in low visibility.<\/p>\n

Russian forces tried to exploit the fog to gain a better foothold near Pokrovsk, but none of their attempts were successful<\/p>\n

The weather also complicates the use of FPV drones for both sides. Nevertheless, Russian forces continue to suffer severe losses in the Pokrovsk sector, and every attempt to advance is stopped by concentrated, accurate strikes from Ukrainian defenders.<\/p>\n

The video posted earlier by Russian troops showed a column moving through Pokrovsk under the cover of fog. That column was destroyed \u2014 a fact confirmed by the Russians themselves. Propagandist Arutyunov described the aftermath as a \u201cpile of two-hundreds,\u201d indicating massive personnel losses. This directly affects the intensity of the fighting: Ukrainian strikes are steadily degrading the occupiers\u2019 capabilities.<\/p>\n

Another example is no less telling. Soldiers of the Phoenix<\/strong> unit repelled a Russian assault near Pokrovsk. The occupiers attempted to launch an offensive near the village of Volodymyrivka using more than ten armored vehicles. Ukrainian defenders destroyed the column: nine armored vehicles, two tanks, and more than sixty Russian soldiers. Once again, the enemy has tried to exploit the fog \u2014 and once again failed.<\/p>\n

A further case underlines this pattern. Under the cover of poor visibility, Russian forces were massing in the village of Uyutne. Special Operations Forces struck the assembly area of the Russian 51st Army using drones, despite the fog. Occupiers from the 1st and 9th Motorized Rifle Brigades were gathered inside one of the buildings. At the moment of their greatest concentration, attack drones hit the structure, inflicting dozens of casualties.<\/p>\n

The 51st Army of the Russian Federation is tasked with encircling the Pokrovsk\u2013Myrnohrad agglomeration from the north.
\u201cDespite adverse weather conditions, Special Operations Forces drones successfully reached their target. SOF units continue to carry out asymmetric actions to degrade Russia\u2019s offensive capabilities,\u201d the Ukrainian Armed Forces Special Operations Forces Command reported.<\/p>\n

In addition, Ukrainian defenders destroyed the highway linking the occupied town of Selidove with Pokrovsk \u2014 a route used by Russian forces to move equipment and personnel.<\/p>\n

An air strike was launched along this route, after which the Ukrainian Defense Forces deployed additional firepower. It is these colossal Russian losses that are shaping the intensity of fighting in the Pokrovsk sector.<\/p>\n

According to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 336,000 Russian citizens signed contracts with the army from January to November 2025. British intelligence, however, reports that the occupation forces suffered 353,000 casualties during the same period. In other words, Russian losses exceed the number of new contract soldiers.<\/p>\n

An analysis of Russian social media groups shows a telling trend: mobilized soldiers are recording mass video statements insisting that if any information appears claiming they \u201csigned a contract,\u201d it was done under coercion and without their consent.<\/p>\n

This is how \u201ccontract soldiers\u201d are being produced \u2014 not out of patriotism, but under threats from commanders. Either they sign a contract, or they are \u201czeroed out\u201d \u2014 simply shot. Such practices are causing severe demoralization and a surge in desertions. According to Russian data, more than 70,000 soldiers have already deserted.<\/p>\n

Russian sources also admit that the average lifespan of an assault trooper is just 12 days. It illustrates the amount of \u201chuman meat\u201d Russia must feed into the battlefield to maintain constant pressure on Ukrainian defensive lines.<\/p>\n

Heavy fighting is raging in the urban areas of Pokrovsk, especially around the feed mill. Russian assault groups are pushing toward the meat processing plant, trying to gain a foothold that would allow them to threaten Ukrainian units with encirclement and seize key Defense Forces positions.<\/p>\n

But the Ukrainian command had already anticipated these scenarios. On the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, special forces of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Special Operations Forces, and other Defense Forces units were redeployed to Pokrovsk. Their mission is to restore disrupted logistics and expand the zone of control.<\/p>\n

Some Western media rushed to claim that the battle for Pokrovsk was nearing its end and that Russia was advancing thanks to \u201cinnovative tactics,\u201d allegedly using ruins as cover to attack Ukrainian positions. This assessment is either misguided or simply superficial.<\/p>\n

The tactic of conducting urban assaults in small groups has been used by Russian forces since 2022. It is neither innovative nor new \u2014 merely another iteration of the same assault-group method the occupiers have relied on for three years.<\/p>\n

It is not the Russians who are adopting new approaches, but the Ukrainian defenders \u2014 particularly in their advanced use of drones. It is no coincidence that the Ukrainian president recently stated that, over the past month alone, Russian losses from Ukrainian drone strikes reached a record 25,000 personnel. To compensate for these losses, Russia must constantly recruit tens of thousands of new soldiers across the country and send them to the front, often with little or no training.
\nThe situation near Pokrovsk is already bordering on fanaticism. Putin needs to demonstrate at least tactical successes, primarily to US President Donald Trump. This is precisely why the assaults on Pokrovsk and the Pokrovsk agglomeration are so persistent.<\/p>\n

Also, follow “Pryamyi”<\/strong> on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Telegram<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Materials published in the \u201cTHOUGHTS\u201d section reflect the opinion of the author of the publication, who bears full responsibility for the accuracy of the information.<\/em>
\n\u2022 The editorial board of prm.ua may not share the opinions expressed in the author\u2019s material.<\/em>
\n\u2022 The owner of the web page in the \u201cTHOUGHTS\u201d section is the author of the publication.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russia has massed roughly 150,000 troops in the Pokrovsk sector, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky told The New York Post. Despite the overwhelming numbers, Ukrainian forces are holding the line and preventing Russian infantry from securing any positions in the city. The General Staff stated it. More than 300 Russian troops have pushed into Pokrovsk and are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":1283570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76871,76872,76991],"class_list":["post-1321390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2","category-news-feed","category-opinions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1321390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1321766,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321390\/revisions\/1321766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1283570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1321390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1321390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}