Ukrainian troops have driven Russian forces back from Pokrovsk in a major blow for Vladimir Putin just hours after his Alaska summit with Donald Trump. In the days leading up to the high-stakes meeting, Putin’s army appeared to have made a major breakthrough on Ukraine’s eastern front around the hotly contested city of Prokrovsk.
Some of the most intense fighting has taken place around the city, a key logistical hub for Kyiv’s forces. Last week, the Kremlin’s troops were reported to have driven through exposed Ukrainian defences near Dobropillia in Donetsk, marching as far as six miles behind the front line in just 48 hours. Their aim was to cut off Pokrovsk and the city of Kramatorsk, another vital stronghold in the Donbas still under Ukraine’s control.
Zelensky’s army has, though, in the past 24-48 hours launchd a number of counterattacks and succeeded in retaking some of the territory it lost.
According to data from DeepState, Ukrainian units been able to drive the enemy away from positions near Rubizhne, Zolotyi Kolodiaz, Vesele, Vilne Shakhove, Nikanorivka, and Sukhotske.
At the heart of the fightback was the 1st Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard, which inflicted several hundred casualties on the Russians.
The corps also destroyed a Russian tank, took out two IFVs and managed to damage 37 light vehicles and three artillery pieces. President Zelensky publicly praised the 1st Corps as well as several other units fighting in the Donetsk region.
Speaking on X today, he said: “We are defending our positions along the entire front line. For the second day in a row, we have achieved successes in some extremely difficult areas in the Donetsk region – in the direction of Dobropillia and Pokrovsk.
“The destruction of the occupiers who tried to infiltrate deeper into our positions continues.”
Military experts have noted how Russia’s army has over the past year adapted its tactics to exploit Ukraine’s lack of manpower and weapons.
Russian units take ground on the flanks of cities they are trying to capture, thus enabling their drone operators to move into positions from where they can target Ukrainian logistical supply lines, preventing ammunition and food as well as reinforcements from getting to the front.
They then launch assaults from all sides, leaving the Ukrainian defenders with two options – either stay and fight but risk being cut off, or retreat to safety.
