The officers, who have been deployed in Pokrovsk and nearby Myrnohrad for months, say Russian forces are relentlessly attacking the supply routes into Pokrovsk with fiber-optic UAVs. As a result, reinforcing Ukrainian units must march 10 to 15 kilometers on foot to reach their positions, carrying ammunition, drones, and provisions.
According to the officers, Russian troops re-infiltrated Pokrovsk in mid-August after a Ukrainian sweep operation in July. Since then, Moscow’s forces have established several staging areas in and around the city, enabling them to press the attack.
“Russian fighters are shooting Ukrainian drone operators and engaging our artillerymen and anti-tank teams inside the city,” one officer said. Ukrainian forces still hold positions south of Pokrovsk, but some outposts lie isolated behind enemy-held ground.
Complicating matters, the source said, is the proliferation of inaccurate reports regarding which positions Ukrainian troops hold. “Some marked sites are empty or occupied only by wounded soldiers,” one officer said. Ukraine’s defenses are critically low on infantry.
“Infantry units are almost cut off from command,” he added.
“We can hear them on the radio. We’ve been dropping water by drone because many soldiers have been on site for two and a half to three months.”
Evacuation of the wounded is nearly impossible, the officers said.
“The main challenge is logistics,” one source said.
“You can drive part of the route, but then it’s a 10-to-15-kilometer march under constant drone surveillance, carrying ammo, drones, and food. FPV reconnaissance drones on fiber-optic feeds, loitering munitions and remote-controlled mines dominate the roads, and every day someone dies.”
The worsening situation in Pokrovsk also threatens Myrnohrad, about 20 kilometers away via supply routes that pass through Pokrovsk. Ukrainian forces have spotted Russian units north of Myrnohrad, raising fears of encirclement.
“If Pokrovsk falls, the garrison in Myrnohrad will be cut off,” a second officer said.
“Resupplying over 20 kilometers is nearly impossible. We can’t rotate troops or evacuate the wounded. Nearby Russian advances in Rodynske and Chervonyi Lyman are squeezing us. Our soldiers know the encirclement is approaching.”