According to Forbes, Ukraine has urgently deployed the Kara-Dag Brigade, a key offensive unit, to reinforce defenses around Pokrovsk, a crucial logistics hub in eastern Ukraine.
This deployment highlights the critical situation as Russian brigades, having successfully besieged Avdiivka in February, push towards Pokrovsk, which has become a vital distribution point for Ukrainian forces in Donetsk region, making its defense essential.
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The Kara-Dag Brigade, consisting of around 2,000 soldiers, has been shifted from its usual position in southern Ukraine to the eastern front.
Established in 2014 and restructured multiple times, the Kara-Dag Brigade saw intense combat in 2022 and was equipped with heavy weaponry, including T-64 tanks.
Due to the demands of the war, this brigade exemplifies Ukraine’s national guard's shift from a primarily paramilitary force to one that operates more like an army brigade.
Despite these reinforcements, the Russian push continues, and some observers question why Ukraine isn’t deploying more of its reserves.
Russian commentator Evgeny Norin, cited by Forbes, has noted that while some Ukrainian units are engaged in the Kursk region offensive, others remain in reserve.
This has led to speculation that Ukraine might prioritise gains in Kursk over defending Pokrovsk.
The decision to allocate resources to the northern offensive while potentially risking the eastern supply lines represents a high-stakes gamble in Ukraine's broader strategic approach.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December, 18, 2024
Russian forces have been steadily advancing towards Pokrovsk and frequently claim to have taken control of nearby villages.
Russian tanks and infantry, supported by heavy artillery and air strikes, captured a key settlement and gained new ground in the eastern Donbas sector recently.
Roman Ponomarenko, an officer of the 12th Special Purpose Brigade, “Azov,” of the Ukrainian National Guard, has recently stated that the situation on the front line in the Donetsk region "has spiraled out of control."
“For a long time, the situation in Donbas was aptly described as ‘difficult, but controlled,’” Ponomarenko wrote on Telegram. “However, now it is out of control. Currently, it looks like our front in Donbas has collapsed.”
He stated that the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is disorganized, with troops exhausted, weakened, and many units demoralized.
“The reinforcements we’re receiving are mostly ‘busified’” (a slang term for those who were forcibly mobilized, literally meaning they were ‘caught,’ put on a bus, and drafted into the army), Ponomarenko wrote. “This doesn’t help; in fact, it complicates the combat operations of the units.”
He added that Russian forces are not advancing deeper only because they are as exhausted as the Ukrainian troops. Despite this, Ponomarenko said that the Russians maintain a significant numerical advantage and have virtually unlimited ammunition supplies.
“Their offensive continues, and we cannot stop it at the moment. And the AFU operation in the Kursk region is not the reason for that,” he said.
“I have doubts that our command has any comprehensive plan for all of this,” the officer added.
Ukrainian defender and paramedic Kateryna Polishchuk, known by the call sign “Ptashka,” or “Birdie” also commented on the dire situation on the Pokrovsk front line in a Facebook post.
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“In the Pokrovsk sector, it's a full as a*s. No exaggeration. While everyone is cheering about Kursk, Pokrovsk has a few weeks left,” she wrote.
She said that towns where she had coffee just a month ago are now occupied, and First Person View (FPV) drones are already targeting the town where she had lived for the past two weeks.
“All the safe villages where I rested after the positions are now occupied. The deep rear, where I refueled the car and cared for the wounded, is now the front line,” Polishchuk reported.
“And I don't give a s**t about the command, their ambitions, stars, and interests. The guys need help... I can’t allow another Mariupol to happen,” she added. “I can’t let hundreds of my friends die because of a few high-ranking careerist imbeciles.”
Speaking to reporters via video link, Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Syrsky reported that military intelligence estimates the Kremlin plans to concentrate 50,000 to 60,000 troops for its Donbas offensive.
He also said that roughly one in every three combat engagements along the entire Russo-Ukrainian War front is taking place in the Pokrovsk sector.
Syrsky described the situation in the Donbas sector as “extremely difficult.”
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