Capture of Pokrovsk to undermine combat capabilities of Russian army - ISW
Russian troops suffer huge losses near Pokrovsk (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Russian troops gain tactical advantages south of Pokrovsk. However, the enemy is suffering very heavy losses, which undermines the potential of the Russian army to conduct further offensive operations, reports the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Geolocation data released on December 10 indicates that Russian troops advanced west of the village of Novyi Trud and along the E50 highway south of Dachenske, narrowing the small area of Ukrainian positions west of the E50 highway and south of the Novyi Trud-Dachenske line. This advance allowed Russian troops to be approximately six kilometers south of Pokrovsk.
The ISW suggests that in the coming days, the Russians are likely to continue their attempts to capture the area between Novyi Trud and Dachenske. This would give them a stronger position from which to assault the village of Shevchenko, northwest of Novyi Trud and southwest of Pokrovsk.
Critical situation
On December 11, Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Grouping, said that Russian troops attacked Ukrainian fortifications west of the village of Novyi Trud, south of Novotroitske (southwest of Shevchenko), and on the southwestern outskirts of Shevchenko.
According to Voloshyn, Ukrainian forces lost two positions during these attacks and are working to regain control.
The commander of the Ukrainian battalion operating near Pokrovsk characterized the situation in this area as critical. According to him, this is since each Russian battalion-sized formation receives about 200 new soldiers every month.
The Ukrainian military also emphasized that the Russians attack Ukrainian positions up to 30 times a day and have an advantage in artillery shelling. This indicates that Russian troops are currently relying on superiority in personnel and artillery ammunition to secure tactical advantages in the Pokrovsk direction.
According to ISW, the Russian command has resumed offensive operations to capture Pokrovsk by turning around from the south. However, this maneuver is costing huge losses of manpower and equipment.
Another officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces brigade said that in two weeks, Russian troops lost almost 3,000 people in the Pokrovsk direction. ISW is convinced that continuing losses of this magnitude will lead to increased costs for the already overburdened Russian army.
“Russian troops may well continue to advance in the direction of Pokrovsk, but the losses they suffer will limit their ability to turn these successes into more far-reaching offensive operations,” the Institute for the Study of War is convinced.
Frontline situation
According to the latest data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 194 combat engagements took place on the frontline over the past day. The enemy is attacking most heavily in the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions. Defense forces are inflicting enormous losses on the enemy.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi noted that fierce fighting continues in the Pokrovsk direction. The Russian army has an advantage in manpower and is using non-standard solutions.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out territorial concessions to Russia during possible peace talks.
