The Russian Federation is advancing not only in the Pokrovsk area, but also in other regions, say the military

The Russian Federation is advancing not only in the Pokrovsk area, but also in other regions, say the military

Major of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Deputy Commander of the 3rd OSBr Maksym Zhorin noted that Russian military forces are increasing their pace of advancement, the dynamics are very high. At the same time, Ukrainian units are suffering from exhaustion without rotations and proper reinforcement.

"Everyone is already accustomed to news about the advancement of Russian troops ’somewhere out there in the East.’ Well, they move — let them move; it’s not that scary. But they’ve already reached Pokrovsk, and next are other cities, including large cities with hundreds of thousands of people," Zhorin said.

He emphasized that currently, Ukraine is not in the best position.

According to co-founder of the DeepState project Roman Pohorelyi, the intensity of the Russian Armed Forces’ advancements decreased at a certain point.

"The enemy has shifted focus, concentrating its attention further south of Ukrainsk, Hornyak, and is now preparing to storm it; significant forces have been gathered there. We see that this area is more associated with the Kurakhove direction. Most likely, this direction, this southern movement is receding, but the activation in the Pokrovsk area has not diminished.

He noted that Russians are advancing not only in the Pokrovsk district, but there is also an ongoing activation in the area of Myrnohrad. The enemy is trying to advance. In addition, battles are constantly happening in the area of Hrodivka, Novohrodivka, the enemy is constantly storming Selydove, where they are trying to break through.

When asked what happens if the enemy captures Pokrovsk, Pohorely noted that they have not managed to do so, and possibly may not. However, there are many versions.

"Some think they (the Russians) will move towards Dnipro, but most likely, they will consolidate in large cities (of Donetsk region). This is their main goal, and indeed there is hardly anything left to the border of Donetsk region. They have a vast operational space towards Kostyantynivka along the route, which is another direction and another opportunity to enter from behind," Roman Pohorelyi noted.

He emphasized that there is a high probability that the Russian Armed Forces will consolidate in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, after which they will transfer forces to other directions to press further.

"They have Kurakhove in the field, Vuhledar, they have places to push. They transferred additional forces there, but again, Kurakhove is very important for them. If they manage to capture Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad earlier, they can transfer forces there, or to Kostyantynivka, to Chasiv Yar, to pressure from another side."

Military expert, former representative of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Vladyslav Seleznyov reported that there has been no dynamic in the Pokrovsk area recently.

"The enemy stopped advancing precisely in the Pokrovsk direction, but the enemy continues to expand flanks in this area to protect their forward assault squads, which are 10 km from Pokrovsk, from flanking attacks by Ukrainian Defence Forces," Seleznyov said.

He noted that the Russians do not have the resources to occupy Pokrovsk.

The plan failed: occupiers failed to capture Pokrovsk by October 1

Lieutenant of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the call sign "Alex" said that since the end of August, Russian military forces were actively advancing on Pokrovsk, specifically tasked to reach the city by October 1. However, their active advancement was stopped in early September when they got stuck in Selydove. The enemy tried to bypass the city from the south and north.

"So, there was no breakthrough to Pokrovsk itself. As we see, it is September 30. And not only did they not take Pokrovsk, they did not even reach it. Now the pace has completely decreased, they are not trying to reach and capture this city, they just want to bypass Selydove," reported "Alex."

The officer shared that the enemy currently has three most active directions in Donbas — Vuhledar, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove. The latter has seen a bit of a pause in hostilities. However, now battles are ongoing on all three directions at roughly the same intensity, so the difference may only be a few days. For example, today the enemy is active in the Kurakhovsky area, tomorrow there may be large mechanized assaults on the Vuhledar area, and on the next day in the Pokrovsk area.

Exhaustion of Ukrainian Armed Forces units: the problem of lack of personnel

Roman Pohorelyi noted that the exhaustion of Ukrainian Armed Forces units on the front is a perpetual problem that cannot be concealed or avoided. He emphasized that no steps are being taken for normal mobilization, and nothing is changing in terms of recruitment.

"When the former brigade commander from the 14th brigade, ’Masutov’s butcher’ (Oleksandr Okhrimenko), is appointed as the brigade commander of the 72nd brigade, this does not motivate at all. When you talk to guys from neighboring units who met with him, they all offer condolences to the guys and nothing more; they just hope to hold on. Those who know about him in the 72nd brigade also say: ’Oh my God, what is happening.’ Some people fight only in words, while others do nothing," he added.

Seleznyov noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are getting exhausted because the intensity of the hostilities is overwhelming. Currently, there is not a single calm sector on the battlefield. Specifically, there are several media-prominent front sectors — Vuhledar, the direction towards Toretsk, the Selydove area, Lyman. However, on other front sectors, battles of quite intense level are ongoing. He pointed out that recently there has been no news from the Kursk region, where there is a Ukrainian foothold. However, according to reports from Russian channels, active hostilities with significant movement of forces and means are taking place there.

"If they don’t talk about it, it doesn’t mean that calm reigns on the battlefield. Therefore, intense hostilities lead to the moral, psychological, and physical exhaustion of our military," he explained.

"Alex" clarified that the problem with rotations of Ukrainian Armed Forces units indeed exists, but it is directly related to the deficit of personnel.

"Unfortunately, such are the realities of war, because we are still fighting an enemy that outnumbers us several times over," he said.

According to him, in this war, infantry is indispensable as it holds the line of combat engagement. For now, the number of such people is becoming fewer and fewer.

How to improve the position of the Ukrainian army on the front

Pohorely noted that to fix the situation, more work needs to be done and a person in the higher command who understands this problem and is interested in correcting mistakes should be found, who will take everything into their hands and start making changes.

"There are many people horizontally and vertically, whereas one person can break the whole reform. Such people need to be driven out of the army and everything should be done to prevent them from interfering in this correction. But there is a lot of work to be done. It is a difficult and painstaking process to coordinate actions with commanders, supplies, training centers, recruiting, TRC, which spoil the whole procedure, finally find a political solution. After all, our politicians, who make laws on mobilization, live by politics, elections, they are afraid to sacrifice their ratings. It is necessary to make these decisions, press on, find dodgers, wandering around restaurants and cafes, not standing by enterprises, factories, and fulfilling the monthly quota," explained Pohorelyi.

According to him, it is a grand job that requires more than a day, month, or year.

Vladyslav Seleznyov said that Ukrainian soldiers need rest, conduct rotations. For this, enough mobilization reserves are needed.

"The most acceptable option is three months of active combat operations, and then two weeks for a break. Real rest, so that it is not just replacing one position with another, but a real withdrawal to the rear to recover and rest, to heal, to undergo rehabilitation. This is really very important, because war, when a person acts on the edge of their capabilities, literally pulls out all vital, psychological, and emotional forces," noted the expert.