The Russians are throwing their wounded soldiers into the fight. Near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, wave after wave of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) slam into Ukrainian lines, Army TV reports.
As of May 2025, Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast has become one of the most fiercely contested sectors on Ukraine’s eastern front. Recently, Russian troops have launched sustained assaults to advance toward the neighboring border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The fighting has been particularly brutal, with Ukrainian forces repelling up to 64 Russian attacks in a single day.
Some of the soldiers inside are already wounded — others are too scared to leave the vehicles. But they’re given no choice.
Yuliia Stepaniuk, head of communications for Ukraine’s 117th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade, says that on 1 May, Russian armored vehicles tried to reach the front to drop off infantry.
Ukrainian troops managed to set them ablaze. Even when one IFV caught fire, the soldiers inside didn’t immediately jump out.
Why? Stepaniuk says Russian troops fear Ukrainian drones — and their own commanders — more than death.
“They’re genuinely afraid. They don’t want to fight, but the order is clear: if you come back, you’re considered dead. A captured soldier said they were lined up before the assault, and one who hesitated was shot in the legs,” she explains.
He went into battle limping anyway.
According to Stepaniuk, Russian troops now understand that their only chance to survive is to surrender — if they’re lucky.