Ukraine's Collapse Of Pokrovsk A Disaster - Five Ukrainian Brigades Encircled In Dmitrov

Scott Ritter: Pokrovsk Was ‘Anchor’ of Ukraine’s Donbass Fortification Belt, Its Loss Is a Disaster

Sputnik

Earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry has announced that Russian forces have completed the operation to secure Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk), with additional gains reported across several fronts.

“The collapse of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) has created a situation where Ukraine has lost some of its best brigades, some of its best men,” the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and military analyst said.

These battle-hardened, NATO-trained units, which include the 25th Airborne Brigade and 38th Marine Brigade, are “irreplaceable,” according to Ritter.

“This will result in a significant gap in the Ukrainian lines, which will have to be filled by troops that will be taken from other locations, further thinning and decreasing Ukraine’s capabilities there,” he noted.

Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) was also “the anchor of Ukraine’s fortified belt in Donetsk, in the Donbass. And now that that anchor has fallen…there’s really no significant fortified defensive positions between where the Russian Army will find itself and the Dnepr River,” the observer stressed.

The strategic location’s loss and the decimation of Ukraine’s elite units will put Kiev under strain across a broad area stretching from Zaporozhye and Kherson to Kharkov, Ritter believes.

“This will have a snowballing effect in terms of how the Ukrainian Army is able to stand up and fight against the Russians. I think it is the beginning of a collapse. And this time NATO doesn’t have a solution,” he summed up.

Five Ukrainian brigades encircled in Donbass town – Bild

Five Ukrainian brigades are virtually encircled in the town of Dmitrov (known as Mirnograd in Ukraine) after Russian forces captured the nearby city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), a Ukrainian soldier on the ground told the German outlet Bild.

The Russian army has effectively cut off all supply routes to the 1,000 Ukrainian troops trapped in the city, Bild reported on Tuesday, citing the soldier.

“To be honest, the situation is critical,” the Ukrainian serviceman said, adding that his group is only being supplied through drone deliveries. He added that Russian soldiers have taken control of “almost every single building” between Dmitrov and the parts of Donbass still controlled by the Ukrainian military.

The soldier criticized the actions of his commanders, which he said deployed “many units” to the area but still failed to retain control over supply routes leading to Dmitrov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Kiev was trying to regain control over Krasnoarmeysk to relieve Dmitrov “at any cost” by sending newly formed and inexperienced units virtually to their deaths.