Not just Pokrovsk: where else Russian troops are trying to break through

Ukrainian defense forces have managed to retake the village of Rodinske north of Pokrovsk, somewhat protecting their group, and are conducting counterattacks in Pokrovsk and its western suburbs to prevent further Russian advances from the south.

Russian troops are continuing their offensive in the southern and eastern parts of Pokrovsk and maintaining fire control over Ukrainian land supply routes.

Geolocated footage released on November 10 and 11 shows slight advances by Russian units southeast of Pokrovsk and southeast of Mirnograd.

Russian troops are likely to capture Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, but according to analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), this will most likely take longer and result in greater losses than if the Russian military command had concentrated more resources from other parts of the front on this direction.

However, the Russian command has decided to conduct several offensive operations simultaneously across the entire front.

 

 

As can be seen on the map, the most active fighting is currently taking place in the north of the Kharkiv region in the Vovchansk area and in the direction of Velikiy Burluk; in the east of the Kharkiv region - in the Kupyansk area; northeast of the "belt of fortresses" in the Donetsk region - in the direction of Siversky; near the intersection of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions - in the direction of Velikiy Mikhayliv, as well as in the east of the Zaporizhia region - in the direction of Khuljaipil.

Sources on both sides report that Russian troops are advancing in a number of areas thanks to foggy weather, which is making it difficult for Ukrainian drones to operate.

 

 

A rather alarming situation for the Ukrainian Defense Forces is developing in the east of Zaporizhia Oblast, where the Russian group of troops "Istok" is advancing towards the town of Khuljaipolje and is rapidly crossing the Yanchur River.

On the evening of November 11, the Russian army captured the strategically important village of Rivnopilje, seven kilometers northeast of Khuljaipolje. In a statement, the Defense Forces of South Ukraine called the withdrawal from Rivnopilje a "movement to more favorable lines" to preserve personnel

The neighboring village of Solodke is also under full or partial control of Russian troops. In addition, Russian troops are advancing further north - in the direction of the villages of Pokrovske and Ternuvatye.

 

Khuljaipolje is a relatively small town, known, in particular, as the birthplace of the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, Nestor Makhno. Before the war, Khuljaipolje was home to about 16,000 people, and now it is reported that the remaining residents have been evacuated.

The loss of positions north of the town threatens to lead to the entry of Russian troops into the operational area and the cutting of the R-85 road, as a result of which Khuljaipolje could find itself in the same situation as Pokrovsk.

"Cutting the road will complicate the enemy's logistical capabilities and force him to build new supply routes to the town. Russian troops will find it easier to move further into the Zaporizhia region," writes the Russian telegram channel "Ribar".

And the town is very important for the defense of Ukraine.

"After Khuljaipolje, there will be Orekhov," writes Ukrainian military observer Bohdan Miroshnikov. "And then, apart from Kamyansk and Stepnohirsk, nothing will prevent the Russian armed forces from approaching the southern outskirts of Zaporizhzhia. This will also affect the village of Pokrovsk. If the enemy captures it, they will be able to reach all the way to Vilnius. And then it will be operational-tactical successes of the enemy and a real disaster," he believes.

Another Ukrainian source, the analytical portal DeepState, notes that the Russians currently do not have enough resources to directly attack Huljaipol, but they can continue to cover the city from the north, increase its shelling and complicate logistics.

"At the same time, I would like to draw attention to the decisions made by the Southern Defense Forces to withdraw from unfavorable positions. Society has long been demanding realistic decisions from the command in order to preserve the most valuable - the people," Ukrainian analysts write.

 

 

Positional fighting continues in the direction of Sumy. There are reports of Russian attacks near the village of Kondratyvka and Ukrainian counterattacks near the village of Vorachyn.

In the north of Kharkiv Oblast, the Russian army has become more active in recent days: it has managed to advance inside the urban area of Vovchansk and, according to unconfirmed information, has captured the village of Sinelnikovo south of the city.

According to the commander of a Ukrainian artillery battery, Russian troops continue to use infiltration tactics in small groups. Russian attacks continue a little further east, in the direction of the village of Vovchanskiy Khutory.

Russian military sources report a rotation of units operating in the Vovchansk area, noting that this occurred shortly after the Ukrainian attack on the Belgorod reservoir dam on October 25.

In another area, approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Vovchansk, Russian troops crossed the state border towards the village of Velikiy Burluki and occupied a five-kilometer zone between the villages of Otradne and Bologivka. According to ISW, this event did not affect control over the area or the front line of the combat zone.

 

 

Fierce counter-battles are also taking place in and around the town of Kupyansk. There is no confirmed information about the successes of either side.

 

Colonel Viktor Tregubov, a representative of the Joint Operational Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated on November 11 that Russian troops are trying to hold positions on the northern outskirts of Kupyansk and noted that both Russian and Ukrainian logistics in Kupyansk are in an extremely poor condition.

 

The Russian military is continuing attacks on some other parts of the front south of Kupyansk - in the direction of Borovaya, Liman, Siversk, Kostantinivka and Druzhkivka.

"Russian troops are taking up new positions on the southern outskirts of Siversk, expanding the zone of control in Zvanivka," claims Russian Z-corporal Semyon Pegov.

The Institute for the Study of War has not found any confirmation of Russian troops' successes in the Siversk area. On the contrary, according to geolocation footage from November 11, which ISW refers to, Ukrainian troops have recently advanced east of the city.

At the same time, according to ISW, Russian troops have made some progress on the eastern outskirts of Ivano-Frankivsk southeast of Kostantynivka.

There is no other confirmed information about significant successes by either side on sections of the front between Pokrovskoye and Kupyansk.

 

 

For most of the war with Ukraine, Russian troops struggled to maintain simultaneous offensive operations in different directions.

However, according to ISW, the Russian command is willing to accept the loss of time and human resources during the attack on Pokrovsk: it fears that reducing activity in any other sector of the front will give Ukrainian troops the opportunity to achieve success there or transfer forces to other, more important areas.

In addition, Russian generals must maintain the appearance of significant advance of Russian troops on the entire battlefield, and not just on the Pokrovsk direction.

Redeployment of forces and equipment from individual sectors of the front in the volume necessary for a rapid breakthrough of the Ukrainian defenses of Pokrovsk could undermine this Russian position, writes ISW.