What is happening in Pokrovsk now?
It is constantly bombarded and shelled: with guided aerial bombs, FPV drones, “Grad” MLRS and other artillery. The Lazurne and Shakhtarsk neighbourhoods, which are 2.5 kilometers from the contact line, are primarily under constant shelling. According to official data, 95 percent of the industry in Pokrovsk has been destroyed and 70 percent of the residential buildings.
There are still people in Pokrovsk. Before the Great War, 60 000 people lived here — now, according to official data, there are about 7 500. The authorities are constantly urging residents to evacuate. The military and police go from house to house, asking people to leave. Volunteers are constantly working in the city, trying to evacuate people — along with their cats, dogs and parrots. The head of the Pokrovsk city military administration Serhiy Dobryak says that all the children have already been evacuated from the city.
After massive shelling from MLRSs, Pokrovsk, December 27, 2024. Evacuation of residents of the Pokrovsk community. Night work of the defenders of Pokrovsk.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Since December 11, 2024, “Donetskoblgaz” has not supplied gas to the city because it cannot repair the network. Electricity was available in Pokrovsk until December 27, but on December 28, local authorities reported that the city was completely without power. So far, electricity has not been restored. Water can be collected at one point from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There were nine such points in the community, but the Russians destroyed six of them. Two more are operating in villages located closest to the contact line.
There are some shops, food stalls and two markets in the city.
“There is sometimes communication, sometimes not. ʼNova Poshtaʼ and ʼUkrposhtaʼ are still working. But we don’t go out anywhere, because it’s dangerous. The house has stove heating, so we are warm. We have stocked up on food and water. That’s how we live,” says a resident of the city. According to her, the intensity of the fighting varies every day.
A local resident sells nuts and pumpkins in Pokrovsk. People say they will stay in the city as long as they can buy food.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
The city also still has units of the State Emergency Service: they extinguish fires and clear rubble after shelling. The city also has a special commission that records the destruction of housing so that residents can receive compensation. However, it only goes to places where it is relatively safe. A free evacuation bus leaves Pokrovsk every day: it takes people to Pavlohrad to the evacuation trains.
Rescuers remain in Pokrovsk — they are extinguishing fires and clearing rubble. Often, the Russians specifically wait for their arrival — and hit the target again.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
How do the Russians plan to advance on the front line near Pokrovsk?
This was predicted by former commander-in-chief Viktor Muzhenko. According to him, the Russians will not storm the city head-on, but will try to surround it and cut off logistics — the supply routes for ammunition, food, equipment, and people.
According to Muzhenko, the Russians do not have the task of taking Pokrovsk, their task is to block it. They are bypassing the city in the south and plan to reach the border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions between Slovyanka and Mezhova.
There are three logistical routes to Pokrovsk: from the direction of Slovyanka, from the direction of Mezhova, and from the direction of Dobropillia. First of all, the Russians will try to cut two highways and railway tracks from the direction of Mezhova and Slovyanka. Only one direction will remain, north of Pokrovsk — to Dobropillia. If this connection is cut, Pokrovsk and the entire agglomeration will be surrounded, without the delivery of ammunition, food, equipment, and people. Without all of this, Pokrovsk will fall.
«Babel'»
There is a direct route to Kostyantynivka through Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, one of the two major logistical routes for the defenders of Chasiv Yar. So according to Muzhenko, if Pokrovsk falls, it will mean that we will effectively leave Donbas to the Russians.
Pokrovsk is home to Ukraineʼs last deposit of coking coal, which is needed for steelmaking plants. On December 13, the mine stopped producing coal due to safety concerns. On Monday, December 31, Russian troops had already seized the mine building in Pishchane. It is also known that Russian troops had seized one of the production sites of the Pokrovsk mine management.