Fra euromaiden.
Russian forces are disintegrating in Pokrovsk as soldiers systematically refuse combat orders. Videos from the front show officers recording troops who say they’d rather face prison than enter the town, which has become synonymous with certain death.
The battle has evolved into small-unit shadow warfare fought by groups of two or three soldiers. Drone dominance prevents any large-scale movement – main forces from both sides remain 10 kilometers outside town limits, unable to cross open ground without immediate detection and destruction.
For Russia, this creates an unsustainable dynamic: their units filled with unwilling conscripts and penal soldiers can’t function in combat that rewards skill and awareness over numbers. Officers strip refusing soldiers of pay and transfer them to penal battalions, which Russian command then sacrifices as cannon fodder to reveal Ukrainian positions.
Ukraine’s defenders operate with precision: drone-guided patrols detect infiltrators, fix them in place, eliminate them, and withdraw before Russian drones can respond. The strategic goal isn’t holding every block but keeping Russian control south of the railway line – maintaining the logistics corridor that allows Pokrovsk to resist or conduct organized withdrawal if needed.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/11/13/frontline-report-2025-11-12/