Russians seize the Pokrovsk lines: operational openings and potential objectives
A significant turning point occurred in the course of the fighting in Ukraine as the Russian army took control of the strategic city of Pokrovsk, opening the way for “further successes”.
The Russian Ministry of Defence released a video this week claiming to show Russian soldiers raising their flag in the central square of Pokrovsk.
Pokrovsk, which had around 60,000 residents before the war, has witnessed months of battles. Hundreds of Russian soldiers had infiltrated the city since September, gradually weakening Ukrainian defenses.
The city carries major strategic importance due to its location at the intersection of key roads and railway lines leading to the last Ukrainian strongholds in the east.
Commenting on the fall of the city, Julian Röpcke, an expert on Ukrainian affairs at the German newspaper Bild, said: “For Ukraine, losing this medium-sized city, which Kyiv once declared a ‘fortress’, is another painful defeat in the propaganda war against Russia.”
He added: “This fall proves that the Ukrainian army is currently unable to stop Russia’s advance, and can only slow it down.”
What does the fall of the city mean?
Strategically, the city, once an important transport hub, no longer holds significant value for Kyiv, since most of the roads and railways to and from Pokrovsk are destroyed, blocked, or lead to Russian-occupied territory, according to Röpcke.
He continued: “For Russia, capturing the destroyed city is a tactical success. The Kremlin is not interested in usable infrastructure but in holding solid structures near the front, where ammunition and troops can be stored, and from where heavy weapons such as tanks or artillery can be operated.”
He explained: “The destroyed city could therefore be a launching point for another Russian advance westward toward the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine.”
Controlling Pokrovsk also allows Moscow to cut Ukrainian supply routes leading to the nearby city of Myrnohrad, which remains partially under Ukrainian control. According to the expert, Russian forces are likely to seize it soon.
However, Röpcke notes that “the capture of Pokrovsk does not appear likely to have a major impact on the battle for the rest of the Donbas. Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the two largest remaining cities in the region, lie more than 50 kilometers away, and the decisive battle for them has not yet begun.”
France 24 noted in an analysis that “the fall of the city complicates the delivery of supplies to Ukrainian troops in other parts of the front, while offering Russian forces a platform for advancing westward, where Ukrainian defenses are thinner, and north toward the large cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.”
Major gains
The Kremlin stated last Monday on Telegram that “Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov presented a report to President Vladimir Putin on the liberation of the cities of Krasnoarmeysk (the Russian name for Pokrovsk) and Vovchansk,” before the ministry released images of the Russian flag being raised in the city.
Kyiv, however, challenges the signs of Russian control, as Ukrainian forces said on Tuesday that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk.
The Ukrainian Eastern Military Command wrote in a post: “Search, assault, and enemy-neutralization operations continue in Pokrovsk.”
Overall, an analysis based on data from the Institute for the Study of War showed that Russian forces achieved last month their largest territorial gains in Ukraine in a year.
In one month alone, Russia seized 701 square kilometers, its second-largest advance after the 725 square kilometers gained in November 2024.
