Thick fog has enabled Russian troops to move further into the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's 7th Airborne Assault Corps says weather conditions, particularly dense fog, have prompted Moscow to intensify its bid to get increasing numbers into the ruined city and encircle Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces have spent more than a year trying to seize the city, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the fog has favoured Russian attacks and the situation remains difficult. Meanwhile, army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has warned that the situation on the front line in the southeastern Zaporzhzhia region has significantly worsened, with the loss of three settlements.
Syrskyi stated, however, that Russia was most active around Pokrovsk. A video has gone viral on social media showing Russian soldiers openly driving through a hazy road on civilian cars and motorbikes. The BBC has verified the location where the video was filmed as the southern outskirts of the town on the Selidove-Pokrovsk highway.
For several days, fog obscured visibility to carry out aerial reconnaissance, says a drone pilot from the Shershni Dovbusha unit of the 68th brigade with the call sign Goose. That's why, he told the BBC, the Russians had even dared to launch assaults using a column of vehicles, which would normally have been wiped out immediately by Ukrainian drones.
The 7th Corps claims that there are now 300 Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk, although that number was initially shared by Zelensky last Wednesday. The video suggests those numbers have increased since then. Russian troops appear to be closing in on most areas of Pokrovsk, according to mapping by the Ukraine-based DeepState monitoring group. Some observers suggest that its fall is imminent.
Most parts of the city are now in a grey zone that neither side fully controls, says Goose. We might hold positions in one building, but the enemy can be in the next one. They're trying to get behind our backs, he says. Moscow is trying to encircle Pokrovsk and neighbouring Myrnohrad in what is known as a cauldron. Even if the lid is not closed, Russians can target all routes in and out using FPV drones. To prevent such an encirclement, Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian troops back from Suvorove and Rodynske on the eastern part of the cauldron, creating a bigger gap between Russian flanks. Russian forces are attempting to cut off logistical routes supporting Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk. They target supply routes not only using drones and artillery but also by sending in soldiers on the ground.
This tactic has proved quite successful, says Ukrainian military analyst Kostyantyn Mashovets. He argues that Russian forces have specifically targeted Ukrainian FPV pilots to limit resources available for detecting smaller Russian groups. Sometimes, in urban environments, Russian soldiers infiltrate by disguising themselves as locals or Ukrainian military.
The Kremlin is also pushing in other parts of the front line – in Kupyansk in the northeast and in the Zaporzhzhya region in the south. Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson of the Joint Forces Operation, denied Moscow's claim that they managed to surround Kupyansk but admitted that Russian troops were present in the south of the town, stating that the situation was difficult.
Russian forces have spent more than a year trying to seize the city, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the fog has favoured Russian attacks and the situation remains difficult. Meanwhile, army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has warned that the situation on the front line in the southeastern Zaporzhzhia region has significantly worsened, with the loss of three settlements.
Syrskyi stated, however, that Russia was most active around Pokrovsk. A video has gone viral on social media showing Russian soldiers openly driving through a hazy road on civilian cars and motorbikes. The BBC has verified the location where the video was filmed as the southern outskirts of the town on the Selidove-Pokrovsk highway.
For several days, fog obscured visibility to carry out aerial reconnaissance, says a drone pilot from the Shershni Dovbusha unit of the 68th brigade with the call sign Goose. That's why, he told the BBC, the Russians had even dared to launch assaults using a column of vehicles, which would normally have been wiped out immediately by Ukrainian drones.
The 7th Corps claims that there are now 300 Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk, although that number was initially shared by Zelensky last Wednesday. The video suggests those numbers have increased since then. Russian troops appear to be closing in on most areas of Pokrovsk, according to mapping by the Ukraine-based DeepState monitoring group. Some observers suggest that its fall is imminent.
Most parts of the city are now in a grey zone that neither side fully controls, says Goose. We might hold positions in one building, but the enemy can be in the next one. They're trying to get behind our backs, he says. Moscow is trying to encircle Pokrovsk and neighbouring Myrnohrad in what is known as a cauldron. Even if the lid is not closed, Russians can target all routes in and out using FPV drones. To prevent such an encirclement, Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian troops back from Suvorove and Rodynske on the eastern part of the cauldron, creating a bigger gap between Russian flanks. Russian forces are attempting to cut off logistical routes supporting Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk. They target supply routes not only using drones and artillery but also by sending in soldiers on the ground.
This tactic has proved quite successful, says Ukrainian military analyst Kostyantyn Mashovets. He argues that Russian forces have specifically targeted Ukrainian FPV pilots to limit resources available for detecting smaller Russian groups. Sometimes, in urban environments, Russian soldiers infiltrate by disguising themselves as locals or Ukrainian military.
The Kremlin is also pushing in other parts of the front line – in Kupyansk in the northeast and in the Zaporzhzhya region in the south. Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson of the Joint Forces Operation, denied Moscow's claim that they managed to surround Kupyansk but admitted that Russian troops were present in the south of the town, stating that the situation was difficult.
