Pokrovsk, Southeast Being Cleared Of Demoralized Russian Forces By Ukraine

Ukrainian Marines and Assault Brigades have been clearing demoralized Russian units around Pokrovsk and the areas to its south near Velyka Novosilka (about an hour's drive in normal times), both key defensive and logistics hubs. 

The Ukrainians have done so largely without suffering casualties of their own and are reporting that the Russians they encounter, many of whom surrender rather than fight, are demoralized and hungry from lack of supplies. JL

David Axe reports in Trench Art and Taisiia Vidvych reports in Euromaidan Press:

Ukraine's 40th Marine Brigade planned a clearing operation near Pokrovsk for a month. They cleared 5 km and suffered no casualties. The brigade stopped the flow of Russian infiltration on that stretch of the Pokrovsk direction. (Meanwhile, an hour's drive to the south), Ukrainian forces—including the 79th and 80th Air Assault Brigades—have been probing for gaps in Russian defenses in and around Komar. If Ukrainian forces can capture Komar  they can squeeze the supply lines through Velyka Novosilka—and the Russian brigades (of the 29th Combined Arms Army) all along the southeastern front line. The Russian infantry captured are barely trained and hungry. If drones or Ukrainian ground groups don’t kill them first, they surrender because they no longer want to fight. They get one parcel a week with a can of stewed meat, and water drunk from the ground underfoot. That is why the Russians facing the marines are demoralized

The town of Velyka Novosilka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, is a major hub for supplies flowing east to west to Russian forces fighting in southeastern Ukraine. The village of Komar, 11 miles to the north, anchors Russian defenses along the road threading south toward Velyka Novosilka.

All that is to say, if Ukrainian forces can capture Komar and neighboring settlements such as Fedorivka and Vesele, they can squeeze the supply lines through Velyka Novosilka—and by extension squeeze Russian regiments and brigades (many under the command of the 29th Combined Arms Army) all along the southeastern front line.

And that’s why, since this spring, Ukrainian forces—including the 79th and 80th Air Assault Brigades—have been probing for gaps in Russian defenses in and around Komar.  

Ukrainian marines planned a clearing operation near Pokrovsk for about a month, their deputy commander said in remarks relayed by Army Inform. The Defense Ministry’s news agency published them on 12 October. He also described the Russian infantry the marines captured as barely trained, hungry, and unwilling to fight.

Russia seized Pokrovsk by seeping small infantry groups into the city a few at a time. Beyond the city, Russian advances stayed limited. ISW assessed on 25 February that the capture brought no further operationally significant gains. Small advances continued, and DeepState mapped one near Bilytske in Donetsk Oblast on 7 October. Every stretch where Ukrainian units stop that infiltration closes the route Russia used to take the city.

What the operation produced

Karyi, the 40th Separate Marine Brigade’s deputy commander, said that Operation Audit cleared about 6 km². The marines suffered no losses while inflicting them on the Russians, he said, and gathered a lot of intelligence. He promised the enemy many more surprises. 

The brigade had announced an operation by the same name on 26 September. It said then that the marines had cleared 5 km² and captured two Russian soldiers. The brigade also said they had stopped the flow of Russian infiltration on that stretch of the Pokrovsk direction.

Two weeks of training, then the front

Karyi called the two prisoners typical of the Russian infantry now sent against the marines, with all of two weeks’ training behind them. He said Russian recruits spend a month on transfers and paperwork before going into battle. They then walk to their positions for one or two weeks. 

If drones or Ukrainian ground groups don’t kill them first, he said, they surrender because they no longer want to fight. They are not fed or given water. He described one parcel a week with a can of stewed meat, and water drunk from the ground underfoot. That, Karyi said, is why the Russian troops facing the marines are demoralized and untrained.