Russian forces have launched a renewed offensive aimed at capturing Pokrovsk through a southern turning maneuver, the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 7 December. The operation follows successful expansion of Russian positions south and southeast of the town.
According to ISW, elements of Russia’s 15th Motorized Rifle Brigade have advanced along the Petrivka-Pustynka-Zhovte line south of Pokrovsk. Russian forces have captured Novopustynka and made advances near Shevchenko’s southern outskirts. Geolocated footage from 6 December shows Russian progress north of Novotroitske and along the T-05-15 Pokrovsk-Kostyantynopil highway.
Ukrainian army observer Kostantyn Mashovets noted that elements of the Russian 90th Tank Department are leading attacks along the Novotroitske-Ukrainka line. On Dec. 6, Mashuvets reported that Russian forces seized Stari Terny, indicating a near-complete elimination of the Ukrainian pocket north of the Kurakhivske reservoir.
The UK Ministry of Defense reported that Russian forces suffered record-high casualties in November 2024, with daily losses averaging 1,523 and total monthly casualties exceeding 45,000.
The ISW believes Russian forces are aiming to outflank Pokrovsk from the West to force Ukrainian withdrawal from Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, thus avoiding costly frontal assaults, which have been Russia’s key tactic since the all-out war began in 2022. The Russian military intends to interdict the T-05-15, T-04-06 and M-30 roads to complicate Ukrainian logistics.
“The non-stop intensification of offensive operations in Ukraine [. . . ] It has tested the Russian generation apparatus and the economy. The Russian government will likely have to balance the developing body of worker losses and expanding tension to put in place an involuntary partial withdrawal from deeply unpopular reserves, which would put the shortage of hard work and the economy out of the economy, with the preference of capturing Pokrovsk and the rest of Donetsk oblast,” concluded the ISW. Formation
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