It is known from open sources that the enemy has approached the Dnipropetrovsk region to a distance of five kilometers and continues to expand the front.
Since the beginning of April, the Russians have intensified their offensive in the Pokrovsk area. The attacks did not stop even during the "Easter ceasefire". Assaults in this direction are continuous — more than 60 per day, which is three times more than in other parts of the front. The number of artillery shelling and drops of guided bombs has also increased. Both sides keep all roads in the combat zone under constant fire control, and this significantly complicates movement and supplies. To quickly transfer units to forward positions, the Russians use light equipment: buggies, quad bikes and motorcycles. If they succeed, they pull up heavier equipment.
The Russian troops are most actively advancing west of Pokrovsk, towards the Dnipropetrovsk region. The fiercest fighting continues in the area of the village of Udachne, where Ukrainian units have for the first time in a long time pushed the enemy south of the settlement. At the same time, the enemy has advanced in other areas. Over the past week, the Russians have advanced in the area of Uspenivka and between Nadiivka and Zaporizhzhia. After two weeks of attacks, they managed to capture the village of Nadiivka, thereby expanding the front. However, attempts to break through to Kotlyarivka and Troitske, which open the way to the Dnipropetrovsk region, have been fruitless in recent days.
In all the above-mentioned areas, the distance between the positions of the Ukrainian forces and the enemy varies from 200 meters to one kilometer. According to some reports, Russian troops are less than five kilometers from the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The enemy also shelled local settlements daily, trying to weaken the defense of the Ukrainian forces and demoralize the local population.
Offensive on the Dnipropetrovsk region, April 28, 2025.
«Babel'»
The head of communications of the 59th Infantry Brigade of UAVs "Steppe Predators" — the military with call-sign "California" — talks:
On the southwestern section from Pokrovsk, two enemy armies with ten times the number of forces stand against our brigade at once — motorized rifle brigades, divisions, regiments, tank and rifle battalions.
Soon, May 9 is a date that has symbolic significance for the Russians and often becomes a reason for manipulation. They are trying to use the topic of advancing on the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region precisely by this date. However, the situation in the Dnipropetrovsk region is no different from the situation in Donetsk, we are still holding our positions and line of defense. The fact that Russian troops have entered the Dnipropetrovsk region may be perceived by international partners as a signal that we are at a disadvantage. First of all, this is politics.
The Russians are trying to reach the Dnipropetrovsk region, and this is not much different from their intentions to advance to the Lviv region or to strike Kyiv with a ballistic missile. All this is part of the plan they came up with back in 2014. Since then, the enemy has been constantly advancing and gaining ground somewhere. Therefore, it is not worth focusing on whether it has firmly established itself in the Pokrovsk direction. The situation on the front is constantly changing.
The FPV drone operator works in Pokrovsk.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
The enemyʼs advance is based on two main factors. Firstly, the Russians have a large mobilization resource. The General Staff of Ukraine publishes data on enemy losses every day. In our area, at the extreme positions near Uspenivka, this is an average of one and a half to two thousand people per day. Due to constant mobilization, the Russians are quickly replenishing their losses. Secondly, the enemy has transferred forces in the Kursk direction. Some units have already been transferred from there or will be transferred in the near future to strengthen the offensive.
The more people the enemy has, the further it advances. Letʼs imagine: a group of ten people advances, and then nine of them die, and a new one immediately comes out. They use this tactic continuously. We cannot always hold back such a mass of people. At the same time, the enemy rarely uses equipment. Instead of armoured vehicles, they use mopeds and even scooters, trying to break through in small mobile groups and gain a foothold in positions. It is often happened at the cost of their own lives. Their tactics do not change: betting on mass and completely ignoring losses.
Enemy entrenchment is possible, but they do not move through urban areas where they could entrench themselves in defensive structures or houses with basements for prolonged offensive operations. Instead, they try to advance through open fields where they can quickly dig in, creating fortifications. To do this, they use excavators that allow them to dig trenches to the depth necessary for entrenchment.
The other day we destroyed 89 Russian soldiers in our area in just a few hours. Now they are increasing the number of groups, trying to achieve at least some success by May 9. Yesterday in the morning we had 5 mobile groups advanced against us (and only two or three of them reached the positions they had planned), so today there may be 30-50 of them. Most of such groups suffer losses, some still manage to break through. Not because we are tired, but because we objectively do not have enough people, pilots, and crews to withstand such a number.
The enemy has started shelling civilians more heavily: they are dropping more aerial bombs on the outskirts and have intensified strikes on rear settlements. There is no hope that this will stop after May 9. The shelling is continuous: 100, 150, 200 artillery strikes per day. Hundreds of explosives are dropped from “Mavic” drones every day and every minute.
Pokrovsk in April 2025.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Each of our brigades, retreating to new positions, is setting up fortifications for itself and the units behind it. The main defensive lines on the administrative border of the region have already been prepared. Thanks to modern communications, drones, and artillery, we can strike the enemy at a long distance and destroy him before he even approaches the main defense.
The commander of the UAVs battalion of the 72nd “Black Zaporozhians” Motorized Rifle Brigade — Lieutenant Colonel Andriy Nazarenko — talks:
The enemy changes its units almost every one and a half to two weeks, because our brigade massively destroys their people and equipment. One battalion destroys 40–50 occupiers per day, and the brigade as a whole destroys about 100–110 enemy soldiers daily. That is, from one to one and a half enemy companies per day.
Since September 2024, the enemy has been carrying out assaults with the aim of reaching the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region. Strategically, this is not of great importance, since there are no dominant heights in this area from which it is possible to control large areas or important routes. However, throughout the entire period of hostilities, the enemy has been trying to advance deep into the regionʼs territory solely for political reasons. Earlier we had the battles for control over forest belts and plantations, so now the enemy is ready to seize even small areas of territory. We can say that it is already a fight for every tree.
The “Black Zaporozhians” on a combat mission.
When the fighting in the Kursk region ended, the enemy transferred a significant part of the men and equipment to our direction, increasing the pressure on our positions. Fighters who arrive from the Kursk region are more motivated, because they feel like winners.
The enemyʼs tactics change depending on the weather conditions. Previously, assault groups on motorcycles got stuck in the mud, but as soon as the ground dried up, the enemy immediately began to actively use them. Moreover, they again do not care about the loss of personnel, because motorcycles can be destroyed even with small arms. Some of the personnel die, and others scatter to the landings, which are "gray zones".
This is how the enemy tries to get into the rear, hoping that out of a hundred people at least ten will be able to break through, gain a foothold and build up defenses. Earlier we said that the enemy is running out of armoured vehicles. Now they are ready to get into a Zhiguli, on motorcycles or bicycles to storm.
The enemy uses heavy weapons to bomb populated areas, landings, and positions that are difficult to reach. They do not spare expensive means of destruction in order to advance 50–100 meters. Every day, the enemy uses guided aerial bombs of various weights, artillery shells ranging in caliber from 82 mm to 203 mm “Peonies”, mortar mines, FPV drones with various charges (most often these are rocket launcher shots), drop drones (mainly grenade launcher fragmentation rounds and remote mining with “Leaf Mines”), as well as “Shahed” drones.
Our fortifications on the administrative border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions are well prepared. But even if the enemy reaches the administrative border of the region and advances a few kilometers, it will not be critical in a strategic sense. The preservation of personnel is critically important. If we hold areas of land without strategic importance, tomorrow there may be no people left to hold important lines.
The “Black Zaporozhians” are practicing assault operations.
On April 28, Putin declared a “ceasefire” for the period of the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation (the Victory Day in Russia). According to him, Russian troops should cease hostilities from 00:00 on May 8 to midnight on May 11. However, as the military notes, this also indicates the enemy’s serious intentions to make a breakthrough: in three days, it is possible to rotate or regroup several brigades. In addition, on Easter, the Russians violated their own “ceasefire” almost three thousand times.