Battlefield Messages: Endurance Duel – Pokrovsk

On the night of August 21, Russia after a period of relative “calm”, whose causes are not quite clear, restored massive air attacks on Ukraine. The aim was mainly the western regions of the country, including Lviv and Kiev, where it is estimated to head and store Western military assistance.

During the attack, Russia released a total of 574 drones and 40 ballistic and controlled missiles, which makes it the third largest air strike this year according to the number of unmanned aircraft deployed.

The attack claimed at least one victim and more than 15 injured. Among the affected goals were the Flex -Flex electronics factory near the Hungarian border, where there were 600 night shift workers at the time of the strike.

Just before this escalation, attention focused on the incident in Poland. At night on the center hit In the field in the east of the country, the drone, which the Polish authorities, including the Minister of Defense, clearly described as a Russian provocation. Although the explosion damaged the windows of three houses, no one was injured. The concern, however, was caused by the fact that the Polish air defense, although on the emergency room, did not notice the machine. According to Polish representatives, the drone flew extremely low to avoid radar detection.

This event is a practical example that the nature and intensity of the current war, especially the mass deployment of small, low -flying drones, represent a challenge for modern air defense systems NATO, which were not primarily proposed to fight such a type of threat.

In the Sum region in the north of the country, Ukrainian forces still have a similar superiority and initiative as in recent weeks, and still slowly reduce the Russian “bumper zone”.

The section is also a good reminder that the line line is still indistinct and very unclear. Ukrainian General Staff in one of its August reported reported Liberation of two small municipalities on the Russian-Ukrainian border, Stepne and Novokonstantinivky (on some maps only as Constantinivka).

Surprisingly, however, the fact that their loss has never been announced before, and most of the maps trying to watch the conflict put them out of the fighting area.

On the northern part of the Eastern Front, ie around Kupjansk, Russian efforts to penetrate the city continue. Like elsewhere, the Russian command sends a small infantry sections to penetrate a sparsely occupied and discontinuous Ukrainian defense line, find shelter behind the front line, and then fix their positions. Subsequently, to disrupt Ukrainian logistics, attack Ukrainian soldiers, and gradually get the defenders to retreat. The Russians gradually managed to get to the northern edge of the Kupjansk, some groups have already penetrated directly into the city.

More south, in the area around the cities Squeeze a LymanRussian forces gradually created a promontory in Ukrainian positions. It is now trying to create pressure from it that the Ukrainian troops south of the promontory, especially in the Serebrjanské forest, cause to retreat.

This week, in the area, apparently a small Ukrainian retreat occurred, and the defenders probably left the easternmost positions in the forested part that was difficult to supply. They pulled out a kilometer to two west.

A similar procedure for creating and then expanding the “wedges” in the Ukrainian defense is very characteristic of the Russian command at the current stage of the war.

Russian pressure continued, albeit to a lesser extent, even towards the city Siversk. The area has been stable for a long time, but the invasive units have seen some successes in recent weeks.

According to some observers (example) This could also be because they deployed “saved” armored techniques in the area. As Russia gradually switched almost exclusively to the use of infantry and civilian vehicles, losses of military equipment dropped directly for some departments below the level of new and above all repaired or refurbished vehicles.

Once in a certain time, Russian units can also deploy “armored” formations (although they are usually units of vehicles). It does not seem that in the case of Sivers their deployment to bring a major change, but it is possible that (albeit small) success in this section of recent times can be attributed to some extent.

In the area around Dobropillja northeast of Pokrovsk, where Russian forces in the second week of August the kilometers passed Ukrainian defense and the situation threatened to collapse of local Ukrainian positions, and continued to fight.

Ukrainian reinforcements managed to stabilize the situation around 15 August and Russian surgerybut not end it completely.

From their “cut off” cuts Russian soldiers are still not all dead or killed, and therefore resist. Although it is not exactly clear which Russian position is still holding and how many men are, the fighting is still ongoing. Most of the remaining Russian infantrymen are probably located in the area around Kučeriv Jar.

In addition, the Russian command is trying to help surrounded forces. There are attacks from the south, which have not yet been successful, but they are still not constantly stopping. At the same time, the Ukrainians are trying to attack Russian positions from the side (because it is a narrow protuberance, it is possible in some places), and theoretically, there may be a situation that Russian reinforcements fall into the encirclement.

What will be the result of the operation is impossible to predict at the moment. Both sides show great determination and perseverance (mainly on the side of those who plan the operations) and do not seem to be willing to retreat at the moment. In addition to tactical success on the battlefield, as usual, it will be crucial who will have more forces and “resources”.

At the same time, a number of sources claim that the Russian command is trying to convert further strength and resources (perhaps from the 8th of the Army) to the sector and apparently also instruct the side sections commanders to multiply the activity in their sectors and prevent the Ukrainian command to convert further advances to Dobropillje.

The Ukrainian side is trying to disrupt Russian logistics in all possible ways, including attacks on trains and railways behind the front in this area.

Most of the small Russian groups have already been destroyed in Pokrovsk itself, which have come to the city in the last two weeks. Ukrainian troops apparently first cleaned the southwestern part of the cities, which the Russians penetrated into the area to cut off the possibility of retreat and prevent other penetration, and then proceeded from the house.

There are still civilians in the city, especially older people who have nowhere to leave, and so the operations are all the more complicated (although civilians in some cases can obviously be helpful when, for example, literally “opened the door” A Ukrainian drone to attack a room with Russian soldiers). Of course, none of this is guaranteed that infiltration cannot be repeated.

There was also a small event in the area of ​​the Pokrov front that illustrates the technological and tactical development on the battlefield – August 14. New economic Kill two Russian soldiers at a record distance of 4000 meters. An intervention that was filmed on video And of course confirmed only by Ukrainian sources, thus broke the previous world record of 3800 meters, which was held since November 2023 by coincidence Also Ukrainian soldier.

The intervention of a distance of four kilometers is more than traditional shelling resembles artillery fire at a target that the shooter does not directly see. The bullet flew to the goal for almost ten seconds and its track had to be calculated with regard to a number of factors, from wind speed to air humidity.

The key role in the entire operation was not only played by the shooter himself with a large rifle, but the whole system. As an observer and corrector of fire, a unmanned aircraft was used by precise coordinates. The calculations for aiming were to be carried out by an unknown software system. This approach is also the answer to new threats; The ubiquity of drones (a large part of which also has heat -sensitive cameras) forces snipers to develop new tactics so that they can even operate and survive on the modern battlefield.

For the Ukrainian defense, the situation in the southern part of the Donetsk region, ie in the section roughly beyond the town of Novapvivka and the border of the Donetsk and Záborozská regions, is not very favorable.

Russian troops are attacking a very wide section. In recent days there have been 30 to 35 combat clashes a day, mentioning Ukrainian sources. The key indicator is the accelerating pace of the Russian profit of the territory, which was supposed to double from four to five square kilometers around 19. August.

The Russian forces from the group of troops “East” proceed almost all over their operating zone, and their goal is probably a breakthrough to the Volča River and the procedure towards the strategic intercourse of three Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Zaforožská and Dniepropetrov.

Despite the local Ukrainian counterattacks, Russian troops are slowly but continuously pushing the defense of the northwest. Thus, the Ukrainian forces that are deployed in the area seem to be unable to stabilize the queue.

There were no significant changes on the Záborožská and Cherson fronts.