Today, there are a lot of interesting updates from the Pokrovsk direction. Here, the southern fields of Pokrovsk have become the stage for one of the most critical battles in the region, now defended by Ukraine’s elite Skala battalion.

As Russian forces attempt to break out of the fields, they are met by Ukraine’s layered defenses, where veteran drone brigades coordinate with artillery to repel the assaults with precision. The goal of the Russian forces in this area is to reach the border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. This would serve as an information victory, compensating for a lack of progress. Militarily, this would allow Russians to stabilize their western pincer and stretch Ukrainian lines further, securing their logistics network in the process.

The main Russian advantage in this area is Ukraine’s manpower shortage. This limits Ukraine’s ability to fully contest the settlements and tree lines where Russians can press their numerical superiority. However, once Russian troops leave these covered areas and attempt to push into the open fields, their advances falter under intense Ukrainian artillery and drone fire.

Drones shred Russians in open fields

The Russian attacks are further compromised by a lack of trench networks in the open fields, as the Ukrainians did not build a lot of them in the first place. With Ukrainians not planning to hold every tree line due to their manpower shortage, Russian assault groups trying to gain ground are struggling to find large Ukrainian trenches and dugouts to shelter in. This keeps Russian soldiers out of cover for extended periods of time, making any attack a risky endeavor.

Despite a lack of sufficient manpower to cover every tree line, the Ukrainians have an abundance of drones to detect the Russian assault groups. The Czech artillery initiative provides Ukrainians with millions of artillery shells, which allow them to conduct large artillery barrages on detected Russian positions and movements.

In addition, the Ukrainian anti-tank ditches and razor wire fortifications have created chokepoints that are easy to monitor for Russian soldiers’ movements. The recent redeployment of the elite Skala Assault Regiment reinforces Ukrainian defenses in the area. While Skala’s assault battalions are being rotated out to rest and recuperate after intense combat in the Pokrovsk sector, their experienced drone and artillery detachments remain active.

These units remain active, detecting, disrupting, and decimating Russian assaults, allowing Ukraine to hold ground with fewer troops, while preserving its main assault forces and wreaking havoc on Russian forces.

Geolocated combat footage from the area reveals a pair of Russian soldiers trying to cover themselves in a sparse tree line and play dead to avoid being struck by the Ukrainian drones. However, the Ukrainians detected everything that moved, and as a result, both Russian soldiers were eliminated.

Motorbikes fail as Russians fall in traps

The Ukrainians are therefore forcing every surviving Russian soldier to be on a constant run in hopes of finding a trench or dugout to save their lives, as stopping would lead to their immediate elimination. To avoid being struck, Russian soldiers are using motorcycles to reach the Ukrainian positions, since they are more difficult for drones to track and strike.

However, the Russian motorcycle assault units had their way blocked by anti-tank ditches prepared by the Ukrainians. This gives ample time for the Ukrainian drone operators to carefully target and eliminate the Russian forces that are being funneled into a kill zone.

Notably, one Russian motorcyclist attempted to jump over an anti-tank ditch with his motorbike. However, he misjudged the width of the ditch and fell short, immediately being hit by a drone-dropped grenade. This careful utilization of open terrain, observation of predictable attack routes, and field fortifications allows the Ukrainians to compensate for their manpower shortage.

Overall, the Ukrainians maintain an effective defense to the south of Pokrovsk, fending off against numerically superior Russian units and forcing them into brutal grinding assaults with no cover to shield them. With the Skala regiment’s veteran drone and artillery units reinforcing the defense, Russian soldiers seem to stand no chance at all.

The intensification of Russian attacks across the whole of the Pokrovsk direction is most prominent here. Russia desperately needs to widen its western pincer to continue its effort to take Pokrovsk into a pocket and avoid a repeat of the grueling and costly urban battle raging in Toretsk.

In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.