Russia infiltrates Pokrovsk with new tactics that test Ukraine’s drones

Russian forces person dispersed rapidly done Pokrovsk, the metropolis successful Ukraine’s eastbound wherever the warring sides person concentrated their manpower and tactical ingenuity during the past week, successful what whitethorn beryllium a last culmination of a 21-month battle.

Geolocated footage placed Russian troops successful central, bluish and northeastern Pokrovsk, said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based deliberation tank.

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Russia sees power of Pokrovsk and neighbouring Myrnohrad arsenic indispensable to capturing the remaining unoccupied parts of the Donetsk region.

It acceptable its sights connected the metropolis astir 2 years ago, aft capturing Avdiivka, 39km (24 miles) to the east.

Ukraine sees the defence of the metropolis arsenic a means of eroding Russian manpower and buying clip for the “fortress belt” of Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, the largest remaining and astir heavy defended cities of Donetsk.

Members of the White Angel portion of Ukrainian constabulary officers, who evacuate radical from front-line towns and villages, cheque an country for residents, successful Pokrovsk [File: Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded their surrender arsenic portion of a onshore swap and ceasefire helium discussed with United States President Donald Trump past August. Ukraine has refused.

A caller US quality appraisal said Putin was much determined than ever to prevail connected the battlefield successful Ukraine, NBC reported.

Russia seems to person outmanoeuvred Ukraine by striking its drone operators earlier they had clip to deploy, and cutting disconnected resupply routes astatine captious points.

“Operational and tactical aircraft, backed by drones, importantly disrupted the Ukrainian army’s logistics successful Pokrovsk,” said Russia’s Ministry of Defence connected Friday. It said it had destroyed 2 retired of 3 bridges crossed the Vovcha River, utilized by Ukrainian logistics to scope the city.

“Unfortunately, everything is bittersweet successful the Pokrovsk direction,” wrote a Ukrainian drone portion calling itself Peaky Blinders connected the messaging app Telegram. “The strength of movements is truthful large that drone operators simply bash not person clip to assistance the [drone] overboard.”

Ukrainian servicemen locomotion on a roadworthy covered with anti-drone nets successful the front-line municipality of Kostiantynivka successful Donetsk region, Ukraine, connected November 3, 2025 [Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters]

On October 29, Ukrainian commanders reported lone 200 Russian soldiers successful Pokrovsk.

Peaky Blinders said Russia was sending arsenic galore arsenic 300 into the metropolis a day, “in groups of 3 radical with the anticipation that 2 volition beryllium destroyed”.

By neutralising Ukraine’s drone operators and utilizing fibre optic drones immune to jamming, Russia reportedly acquired a numerical drone vantage successful the city’s vicinity.

Ukrainian commanders said Russia besides took vantage of bedewed weather, which disadvantaged the usage of light, first-person-view drones.

Ukrainian subject perceiver Konstantyn Mashovets said the Russian bid had developed these caller infiltration tactics to exploit Ukrainian vulnerabilities – a deficiency of manpower and gaps among their units.

“The Russian bid ‘tried antithetic options’ for immoderate time,” said Mashovets.

“Russian method innovations, specified arsenic first-person-view drones with accrued ranges, thermobaric warheads, and ‘sleeper’ oregon ‘waiter’ drones on [ground lines of communication], allowed Russian forces to … restrict Ukrainian unit movements, evacuations, and logistics,” the ISW said.

Residents beryllium successful an armoured conveyance arsenic members of the White Angel portion of Ukrainian constabulary officers evacuate them, successful the front-line municipality of Kostiantynivka successful Donetsk region, Ukraine, connected November 3, 2025 [Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters]

As precocious arsenic Saturday, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii framed the conflict arsenic 1 of counterattack alternatively than defence.

“A broad cognition to destruct and propulsion retired force forces from Pokrovsk is ongoing,” helium wrote connected his Telegram channel. “There is nary encirclement oregon blockade of the cities.”

Yet determination was intelligibly alarm. Ukraine sent its quality chief, Kyrylo Budanov, to the Pokrovsk country with subject quality (GUR) forces to support proviso lines open.

Two Ukrainian subject sources told the Reuters quality bureau that the GUR had successfully landed astatine slightest 10 operators successful a Blackhawk chopper adjacent Pokrovsk connected Friday.

On Saturday, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed “an cognition to deploy a GUR peculiar operations radical by a chopper successful 1km (0.6 miles) northwest of [Pokrovsk] was thwarted. All 11 militants who disembarked from the chopper person been neutralised.”

It was unclear whether the 2 reports referred to the aforesaid group.

Deep aerial strikes

Russia kept up a abstracted run to destruct Ukraine’s energy and state infrastructure, launching 1,448 drones and 74 missiles into the rear of the state from October 30 to November 5.

Ukraine said it intercepted 86 percent of the drones but conscionable little than fractional the missiles, specified that 208 drones and 41 missiles recovered their targets.

With US help, Ukraine has responded with strikes connected Russian refineries and lipid export terminals.

Ukraine appeared connected Sunday to onslaught some a Russian lipid terminal and, for the archetypal time, 2 overseas civilian tankers taking connected lipid there.

Video appeared to amusement the tankers astatine Tuapse terminal connected the Black Sea connected fire, and the politician of Russia’s Krasnodar portion confirmed the hit.

“As a effect of the drone onslaught connected the larboard of Tuapse connected the nighttime of November 2, 2 overseas civilian ships were damaged,” he said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it intercepted different 238 Ukrainian long-range drones overnight.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said it struck the Lukoil refinery successful Kstovo successful Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, eastbound of Moscow.

Russian determination authorities besides said Ukraine attempted to harm a petrochemical works successful Bashkortostan, 1,500km (930 miles) eastbound of Ukraine.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it changeable down 204 Ukrainian long-range drones overnight.

According to the caput of Ukraine’s State Security Service, SBU, Kyiv’s forces person struck 160 lipid and vigor facilities successful Russia this year.

Vasyl Maliuk said a peculiar SBU cognition had destroyed a hypersonic ballistic Oreshnik rocket connected Russian soil.

“One of the 3 Oreshniks was successfully destroyed connected their (Russian) territory astatine Kapustin Yar,” Maliuk briefed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy connected Friday.

Russia unveiled the Oreshnik with a onslaught connected the metropolis of Dnipro a twelvemonth ago. It says it volition deploy the rocket successful Belarus by December.

Ukraine has been lobbying the US authorities for Tomahawk cruise missiles, which person a scope of 2,500km (1,550 miles). So far, Trump has refused, connected the ground that “we request them too.”

The Pentagon cleared Ukraine to person Tomahawk missiles, aft determining this would not deprive the US subject of the stockpile it needs, CNN reported past week, quoting unnamed US and European officials.

The governmental determination present rests with Trump connected whether to nonstop those missiles oregon not. The study did not specify however galore Ukraine could have.

(Al Jazeera)