The Russian breakthrough of the Ukrainian line of defense toward Pokrovsk turned out to be so deep that several large groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are at risk of encirclement. This is now also being admitted in some of the “analysis” of Western observers. While Ukrainian forces had organized a well-entrenched defense in several echelons, the Russian ability to outflank them forced the Ukrainians to abandon their positions.The success of the flanking strategy more generally may indicate that the casualties for Russia, while heavy after three years of war, are far below what the Europeans and the White House are indicating. This is now happening in the battle for Pokrovsk, in which the Russians found a weak point where they could break through and approach from the rear of the fortifications, where as many as 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers will soon face a choice of surrender, retreat, or total destruction.
Military expert Viktor Litovkin told Izvestia, “This is one of the most important nodes on the Donetsk front. So taking Pokrovsk could practically collapse the front in this direction. This opens the way to Kramatorsk, to Slavyansk, the complete liberation of the Donetsk People’s Republic from the Banderites,” he said.
