A military expert discussed the situation on the toughest section of the front.
The Pokrovsk direction remains one of the toughest on the front, a fact that is consistently emphasized in the General Staff's reports. The number of combat engagements with the enemy here is the highest on the front.
As of the morning of August 13, our defenders repelled 52 enemy assault actions in the Pokrovsk direction near the settlements of Kalynove, Sukha Balka, Yelyzavetivka, Zelenе Pole, Novooleksandrivka, Hrodivka, Mykolaivka, Zhelanne, Skuchne, Panteleimonivka, Tymofiivka, Novozhelanne, Ptyche and Vozdvyzhenka. The highest concentration of attacks was near Hrodivka and Zhelanne.
Military expert Ihor Romanenko told TSN.ua why the enemy is putting pressure specifically in the Pokrovsk direction, what the Russians want to capture, and what the prospects in this section of the front are.
The tactics of the Russians - advancing along the roads
According to the expert, the Pokrovsk direction remains the most difficult.
"The situation in the Pokrovsk direction worsened after the enemy had captured Ocheretyne. This occurred due to a series of command errors during the rotation of our brigades. Now the Russians are using the railway from Ocheretyne through Progres towards Zhelanne. By the way, this is the occupiers' favorite tactics - to advance along railways or highways. They began offensive actions to the left and right of the road. Therefore, the map in this area now resembles a hedgehog - with many arrows, and the changes have been drastic in the last two to three weeks. The enemy is advancing towards Vozdvyzhenka, Ivanivka, Vesele in the north and Zhelanne in the south," explained Ihor Romanenko, a military expert, Retired Lieutenant General, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff (2006-2010).
Threat of small and large encirclements
He adds that, unfortunately, the enemy has the forces to act and apply pressure in these directions.
"In this area, the Russians are forming small tactical-level encirclements of our troops. They first try frontal attacks, but when they are repelled, they shift their activity to the flanks. Then they throw everything they can into the battle, regardless of losses, and thus slowly but steadily advance. Now, looking at the map, such small encirclements exist from Vozdvyzhenka through Vesele and up to Zhelanne. Of course, this is dangerous. Our defenders are forced to gradually withdraw to avoid being encircled," the retired lieutenant general explained.
He emphasizes that intense fighting continues in this direction. According to the expert, the Russians are now trying to push through Hrodivka and Krasnohorivka, and using this tactic to advance further.
"South of Zhelanne, there is a threat of an even larger encirclement, specifically near Novoselivka Persha, Umanskr, Kalynove and around Komyshivka and Ptyche. Significant encirclement of our troops is already being observed here. The enemy is now trying to push our defenders towards the Vovcha River. If the Russians can build up their forces to advance south from Zhelanne, there is a threat of forming a large encirclement," Ihor Romanenko notes.
What is the enemy’s goal, and is there a threat to Dnipro?
According to the military expert, the enemy is pressing in the Pokrovsk direction to advance as far west as possible.
"I believe that the city of Dnipro is not the target in this direction. It's far away, and to advance toward the city, the occupiers would have to gather a lot of forces, which, as we know, Putin currently lacks. Therefore, the enemy's further advance, under the current conditions, could be westward, and then they might turn north toward the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. Alternatively, the enemy could advance westward and then move south toward Kurakhove or even further west to flank our group defending Vuhledar," Ihor Romanenko explains.
Breakthrough towards Kursk - what will change on the front?
The expert adds that the situation in the Pokrovsk direction may change thanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces units advancing towards Kursk on Russian territory.
"The Russians have calculated that to stabilize the situation near Kursk, they need to gather a force of up to 30,000 people. And to push our forces back to the border, they need between 70,000 and 100,000 soldiers. They are already redeploying these troops from the front, along with equipment and weapons, to stop our advance towards Rylsk, Lgov, Kurchatov and Kursk. It is already known that the occupiers are redeploying forces from the Kupiansk and Pokrovsk directions for this purpose. For example, Russian tanks that were supposed to reinforce the Pokrovsk direction are now being transferred to Kursk. They are also redeplying troops from the Vovchansk, Kherson directions and from Sevastopol," Ihor Romanenko notes.
The military expert adds that the objective of the raid towards Kursk was partly to improve the situation on the eastern front and its most difficult sections, including the Pokrovsk direction.
Under what conditions will the enemy stop?
We asked the expert's opinion whether the enemy's offensive in the Pokrovsk direction could falter due to the breakthrough of our troops in Kursk region and what would be needed for this to happen.
According to the expert, this is possible, but under only one condition - if our forces receive timely military assistance from Western partners.
"Of course, some efforts are being made. But significant help from the Americans is still lacking. No matter what is said, the statements of Western politicians do not match the reality of their actions. After a six-month pause in aid, the American president apologized to Ukrainians and promised "strong support" in the future. But in July, we received only $200 million in aid, and now a package of $125 million. So much for "strong support," said the military expert.
He explains that the announced aid from the U.S., totaling $1.5 billion, is just an order for the American military-industrial complex, planned over 2-3 years. But we need weapons and modern equipment right now to destroy the aggressor.
"This is somewhat similar to the aid from Belgium, which promised us 30 F-16 fighters, but until 2028. Meanwhile, the U.S. is helping Israel with $3.5 billion. And we remember that while we sat for half a year without aid, the Israelis received modern F-35 fighters and two types of powerful bombs for these aircraft from the U.S. Right now, these fighters and bombs would be very useful to Ukraine to speed up the end of the war," Ihor Romanenko concluded.
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