Battle for Pокровск: Ukraine‘s Crucial Stronghold under Russia’s Gaze
As the anniversary of Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine approaches, the capture of Pокровsk in the Donetsk region of Eastern Ukraine has emerged as one of the Kremlin’s primary objectives. The city’s defense is a top priority for Ukraine, according to David Axe writing for Forbes.
For ground forces, this means brutal close combat in urban areas and agricultural lands around Pокровsk – a critical transport hub with a pre-war population of 60,000, now virtually devoid of civilians after months of Russian bombardment.
In a recent development, a tank from Ukraine’s 59th Motorized Brigade approached Russian forces attacking the town of Novovasylivka, about 12km southwest of Pокровsk. Swerving forward and back, likely to complicate enemy targeting, the tank fired half a dozen shells in quick succession at targets mere hundreds of meters away.
While the tank crew may have momentarily stalled the Russian advance, they couldn’t halt it. According to Ukraine’s Defense Express, Novovasylivka has fallen.
It’s unclear what type of tank the 59th Motorized Brigade sent to defend Pокровsk. The brigade, consisting of 2,000 soldiers, operates standard Ukrainian T-64BVVs but may have received some of the around 150 modernized Leopard 1A5 tanks promised by the Germany-led consortium for combat operations.
If fortunate, the brigade might also integrate some units and battalions from the dissolving 155th Mechanized Brigade, equipped with heavier Leopard 2A4 tanks. The 155th began arriving in Pокровsk last month, but it was already crumbling due to leadership collapse and widespread desertion among rank-and-file soldiers.
In a bid to save the 155th Mechanized Brigade – a unit for which Ukraine, France, and Poland invested months of training and millions of dollars – Ukrainian leaders have started assigning fresh but inexperienced subordinate units to the battle-hardened brigades in the Pокровsk direction.
Ukrainian military correspondent Yuri Butusov believes this might be the cleverest way to salvage the situation, as older brigades face a severe manpower shortage in infantry and can’t maintain a wide_front due to it, while mobile units, command staff, and experienceddrone contingents can swiftly train mobilized personnel.
The 59th Motorized Brigade and its neighboring brigades desperately need all the support they can get, as Russian forces are amassing opposite their positions. Around 10 Ukrainian brigades and regiments currently hold a 16km front between Pокровsk and a pair of Russian field armies, stretching across tens of brigades. On average, Russians enjoy a 3:1 advantage in troop and equipment numbers.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Express, Russians are strongest where Ukrainians are weakest: precisely opposite Pокровsk, where the 59th Motorized Brigade’s garrison is located. "The main threat to the entire southeastern flank of the front at the moment is the enemy’s breakthrough in the operational-tactical sector south of Pокровsk," the groupwarns.
If the 59th Motorized Brigade and any reinforcements from the 155th Mechanized fail to stem the Russian advance, the Pокровsk garrison could soon find itself partly encircled. This would be a dismal development for Ukrainians, setting the stage for what could be the first major battle of 2023.
