POKROVSK OFFENSIVE: KEY HUB IN SOUTH OF DONBAS
Live report on the situation at the front. The situation in Donbas. Critical situation in the area of Pokrovsk, Selydove, Myrnohrad.
The situation in Donbas is very difficult. The situation is very difficult near the towns of Pokrovsk, Selydove, Myrnohrad, in the village of New York and near the town of Toretsk. We will talk about other areas as well. Kurakhove is also a very painful issue for us. So is Vuhledar. After that, we will definitely touch upon such a publicized topic - operation in the Kursk region. All these blocks will be followed by answers to your questions.
Map of the situation in Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad and Selydove.
So, friends, we can see the map of the situation. The territory that the enemy has managed to capture in this area since 1 May is highlighted in bright yellow. The enemy is not advancing quickly at all, but it is advancing, and unfortunately, we are unable to stop this offensive of small infantry groups. For a number of reasons.
The enemy has come close to the cities, so Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad and Selydove are now in the area of Russian artillery fire. Just ordinary barrel artillery systems of Russian troops. It doesn't require only bombs, only missiles, no. Ordinary cannon artillery can work here. So, Selydove, Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad are actually the first line of defense. Pokrovsk is not far away. The information on the map of the situation, of course, corresponds to what has been verified, what has already been confirmed by sources. But according to reports from the field, what I was told today, literally as of this evening, unfortunately, the enemy continues to advance and is about 11 kilometers away from Pokrovsk. So, in fact, the enemy continues to advance.
I would like to draw your attention to a few very important points. First of all. The key villages of Novohrodivka and Hrodivka are being fought over. The enemy managed to break into these villages. Heavy fighting is going on there. And this is the Hrodivka-Novohrodivka military line and just a little bit to the north, north of Hrodivka, north of Novohrodivka. Krutyi Yar is marked on the map. According to our map, the enemy is about a kilometre and a half away from it, maybe even less. Why is this Hrodivka-Krutyi Yar-Novohrodivka military line so crucial for the defence of Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad-Selydove? The enemy is well aware of this. This is where the best, most convenient approach is to attack this entire agglomeration. In other words, not to attack Myrnohrad separately, then Pokrovsk. The enemy is trying to attack the entire agglomeration at once. Krutyi Yar is the dominant height near this settlement. There is a large spoil tip there, everyone knows it. It is literally seven kilometres from Pokrovsk. And after the enemy installs antennas there, drone antennas, Russian drones in fact, Russian air force will be able to strike at our logistics, at the entire area, at all roads that go along the frontage highways from Selydove to Pokrovsk, reaching almost the centre of Pokrovsk, which will seriously complicate any logistics, supply, and use of military equipment. And, of course, we understand that this will lead to very, very serious consequences. Because when your communications are constantly being hit by FPV drones, your manoeuvre is extremely limited. And I want to show you another point on the map.
THE DOMINANT HEIGHT IS 7 KM FROM POKROVSK
The enemy has taken over the flanks in the area of Karlivka, Netailove, Yasnobrodivka in a very dangerous way. We can see our units there, which are actually in the area of Yasnobrodivka, Novoselivka Persha, we can see actually deep outflanking. This is a very, very dangerous situation, very threatening. This foothold was held for a long time. It was necessary to hold back the enemy in the direction of Pokrovsk. But now the enemy has made deep advances in the Hrodivka-Novohrodivka direction. And a big question arises whether it is still advisable to hold this line, as we see how deeply it is already covered by the enemy. The enemy is striking at our logistics routes, the enemy is seriously threatening to envelop us, we see water reservoirs. Therefore, there is a big question whether it is advisable to continue fighting in such a semi-surrounded situation. This is an absolutely disadvantageous tactical situation, it means spending a lot of energy on holding positions when we cannot keep the advance to Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad close. To put it mildly, from the point of view of the soldiers who are currently performing tasks there, it is inexpedient from a tactical point of view. I don't know what the leadership and command are looking at, what maps they have, what the situation is. This information and these maps are absolutely open information, there is no secret here. The information is posted only after careful verification, and it is delayed to match other public maps that the OSINT posts online. Therefore, what is happening now in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad-Selydove area is of great concern. And this concern is not about the soldiers, it is about the adequacy of the overall assessment of the situation at the level of operational and tactical command, operational and strategic grouping of troops. Now it is important to note what you all know. Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad-Selydove, in particular, is an important, strategically important communication hub that ensures the connectivity of our entire front in the Southern Donbass, Southern and Central Donbas. It is impossible to overestimate its importance. That is, we have two key communication hubs that ensure effective combat operations in Donbas and the retention of this key Ukrainian region. These are the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration and the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration. And I think that what we are seeing now is that the enemy has not been stopped for a long time, and he has approached, has actually turned these communication hubs almost into the front line, and it is already under fire from Russian artillery in the affected area. This is a serious concern, and it requires immediate solutions. And we must have an adequate assessment of the situation at the telethon and in the media. This assessment of the situation, it can only be characterized in one word, is uncontrolled. And it is critical. The fact that this is an uncontrolled situation and that the command should be responsible for it is obvious. They should not be looking for the scapegoats, who left where, who ran, who is to blame. And such prolonged actions of the enemy and the inability to stop it is absolutely the responsibility of the command in the first place. And it has to be responsible for this in some way. I don't know, I understand that now the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, is in charge of the Kursk region. And this is a very important operation, of course. But to compare, I mean, you can't ignore the fact that there is a direction there, and the enemy is attacking and advancing on about 8 operational directions. And we are successfully operating in one operational area, in the Kursk region. It is impossible to focus your efforts on Kursk alone and not pay attention to the situation in other areas. This is a matter of serious concern, and for a long time now, the office of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself, has not been visiting these areas of the front, has not been paying attention to it. I'm just surprised. The war, it seems that the troops are waging it independently of the actions of the High Command. No one is demanding that the president sit in the trenches there. We have some systemic problems in the direction. We need to look there to see why it took so long after they left Ocheretyne in April to penetrate the front, and since then the enemy has been advancing continuously 100, 200, 500 meters a day. The Russians have suffered heavy losses, and the pace of advance is slow. There is no threat of a collapse of the front or a breakthrough, but all this time, several months, we have not been able to stop them. And the main enemy we cannot stop is small infantry groups, 3-5 fighters. There are a lot of them, the enemy's combat formations are echeloned, reinforcements are constantly arriving, they are constantly throwing meat at us, it is true, but our soldiers are absolutely capable of doing it. Unfortunately, we have already lost several convenient defense lines there. We now have the opportunity to organize defense, but we cannot sit silently and watch this story. It requires managerial decisions. The number of people sent somewhere is not enough in a modern war. The number of people in uniform does not change the course of hostilities. The course of hostilities is primarily changed by managerial decisions and the organization of hostilities. These are obvious things. Any soldier at the front knows this. And here we see that we have a lot of people at the top who like to talk about successes, and a lot of deservedly good words are said about the situation in the one section of the front where we are advancing. This is very good. But for some reason, there is no attention at all, even at the highest level of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's office, to the situation at one of the key logistics hubs in Donbas.
Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad requires preparation for the defence because the Pokrovsk fortress is not Bakhmut in terms of its terrain. It's not possible there, it's not going to be such a long, long story. It's a plain area, where the terrain does not allow for the same kind of fighting for a long time. The city needs to be prepared for defense. Preparing for defense does not mean sending someone to help at the last minute, going to the houses, sitting down and waiting for the enemy. Preparing for defense means digging defensive structures, in the city itself, trenches, dugouts, because all these houses are collapsing from the GABs, from artillery, and you cannot defend the houses for a long time. We need fortifications, we need defense structures. Nobody cares about this. And the front is already here. And then they will say again, oh, how did this happen? Pokrovsk Fortress, Myronohrad Fortress, Selydove Fortress. It's just incredible. It's incredible that we are constantly running on a rake, and it repeats, and now we are going back to this scenario. Absolutely. And even the country's leadership is not trying to change anything in this scenario. We have gained so much experience. It's just incredible.
Next, let's take a look at the situation in Toretsk, New York.
TORETSK - NEW YORK
Here, too, friends, the enemy has occupied a significant part of New York. New York is a very large settlement, but in fact, as for the central areas, where there are buildings, high-rise buildings, unfortunately, the enemy captured, according to the official report of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade, which is fighting for New York, the enemy captured up to 80% of the city in this area. Perhaps even a little more than is shown on the map here. I am quoting the 53rd Brigade's report. And the enemy also entered the outskirts of Toretsk. But I notice what? I notice the fact that the enemy has actually made such a deep envelopment of our forces located between Toretsk and New York. And we also have large forces being diverted to fight with the outflanks. We are forced to fight with deep outflanks. And this is a very unfavorable situation. There is also a problem here. New York, of course, as we understand it, has not been prepared for defense for all this time. It's even, you know, so bitter to say. This is a common story in our country. We do not prepare cities for defense. A city, a defensive position, is when some infantry, some special forces are driven in at the last minute. And people just run from house to house, until the house collapses from a direct hit. And no defense is being prepared. That is, no one is digging into the ground, there are no dugouts, no covered trenches, no hiding places. Well, nothing is being done. It's just strange. It is strange and it cannot but cause concern. And I am asked questions by all the commanders in Donbas, at all levels, I want to tell you, by all the commanders. Both commanders and fighters. What is going on with Donbas? Why is this approach strange to the organization of defense? Everyone can see it. The same offensive operations have been going on for months. We all see where they are advancing. Here they are from Avdiivka, moving along the railroad track, past Ocheretyne to Pokrovsk. This railroad track from Avdiivka to Pokrovsk has been the focus of the enemy's main efforts for four months now. And first of all, they are pushing our defense along the railroad. This has been going on for four months. And constantly along the railroad tracks. And everyone has known for a long time, every soldier, sergeant, and commander of all levels, that the enemy will continue to push along the railroad tracks. And it was all convenient for digging in there. And nothing can be done about it. Nothing at all. Neither to sight fire means there, nor to put up engineering barriers, nor mines. Well, nothing can be done. And it seems that this is a problem exclusively for those troops who are in a brigade or battalion in that direction, who are holding a large front. And this is only their problem. Not the higher command. It is not responsible. They just replace commanders all the time. And the question is whether this is good for them. Unfortunately, it often does not. Commanders are replaced, units are changed, and the problem remains. And this problem is not solved. Unfortunately, this is what is happening. And unfortunately, in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, friends, there are no enemy tank columns, as we will see in the Kurakhove direction. There are no tank columns there. Small groups of infantry are pushing the frontline. The same is true for Toretsk and New York.
KURAKHOVE DIRECTION
Let's look at Kurakhove. Here the enemy is trying to constantly attack, to pass through. And our units are stationed in this area. First of all, it is the 79th Air Assault Brigade, which is just a backbone. And I want to say, friends, that Kurakhove, this direction, if you look at the number of forces and means used by the enemy, the intensity of the fighting, is now the sharpest and hottest area of the front. Here, the Russians regularly attack not just with small groups of infantry, but with armored columns. They prepare all the assaults under the cover of electronic warfare with powerful air and artillery support. And the vast majority of these assaults, the 79th Air Assault Brigade with its attached units, together with the 46th Airmobile Brigade and our other fighters, our units, repel all these attacks. This simply evokes sincere deep respect and admiration for the actions of our soldiers in this area. This powerful resistance is simply a great salvation for our frontline in general. The 79th Brigade - it's just hard to count how many times it has saved the front in a very important area with its skill, its heroism, just together with other units, of course, there are a lot of them in the area, saving the front as a whole. The enemy manages to advance, but the advancement since May 1... Look, it is very convenient for the enemy to attack there. Donetsk is nearby, there are hiding places, it is very convenient to disguise, to use significant forces. Marinka, and then they are right there. And look, such forces, constant assaults with tank columns, and they have advanced since May 1, but not to a significant depth. With great difficulty, the enemy captured the village of Peremoha and is now approaching Kostiantynivka. But there are heavy battles there, and the enemy is being held back, quite effectively. Of course, Kurakhove is also under threat now, this is clear. But I wanted to point out that the actions here are defensive, and they deserve the respect of our troops.
VUHLEDAR
Let's take a look at the situation in the Vuhledar area, which is deteriorating dramatically, and the situation there is getting worse. Vuhledar is one of the key points of our frontline. It is a town on the dominant heights in this direction. For a long time, the enemy has been conducting offensive operations using a large number of forces to capture Vuhledar. All these assaults were repelled. And this is what is happening now. Now the enemy is advancing north of Vuhledar. They tried to attack for a long time to the south. We will not show the situation now. Our soldiers of the 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade and a significant number of attached units are there. They have been incredibly skillful, heroically repelling all Russian attacks and have stabilized the situation there with their incredible strength. But here, north of Vuhledar, the situation is very threatening. The enemy has advanced and there is actual envelopment Vuhledar from the north. In other words, the enemy used to try to push our defense further south in the Pavlivka area. Now they have moved north. And this is a very dangerous advance, because yes, the enemy has the tactical initiative here and continues to advance. Again, there are small groups of infantry, a large number of drones, Russian artillery, and aviation. Unfortunately, the main factor here is that we also need to strengthen our defense. And not by orders to stand and hold, but by adequate professional management and organizational decisions. Because now we have sent units of the 125th TDF Brigade of the Lviv here. And, of course, to hold a large front with just TDF units without support, without organizing interaction, reconnaissance, fire support in such conditions is simply short-sighted, to put it mildly. This will not solve this problem. This will not help to eliminate this breakthrough in the pushing of the front. And the situation in Vuhledar is very threatening, critical as well, because the enemy cannot be stopped.
KURSK REGION
Now let's look at the situation in the Kursk region. The situation in the Kursk region, the map of the situation, of course, is not based solely on the data from our General Staff, but on the data that is confirmed solely by video, what we see. According to the General Staff, Ukrainian soldiers have already taken control of 1,263 square kilometers of Kursk region and thus created a fairly large, deep sanitary zone, a buffer zone on the territory of the Sudzha and Glushkovo districts of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. Putin's troops have been driven out of here, suffered significant losses. And we can see another area near the border marked in green. This is the area that the enemy is trying to hold on to, and it is for this area that such positional battles are now taking place. We can see that this area is separated by the Seim River, and it is along the crossings of the Seim in this area that we see red squares. This is where the Ukrainian missiles struck, HIMARS missiles are working on the crossings. Three bridges have been destroyed, three red squares, destroyed by Ukrainian aviation, guided bombs, very accurate hits, and at least three pontoon crossings that were set up by Russian troops have been destroyed. Now the idea is to actually isolate the combat zone, and conditions are being created for the enemy in this area to simply flee. In other words, the combat operations of Russian troops here are maximally complicated due to the complex logistics. There are actually quite heavy battles going on in the Kursk region, but these heavy battles are different from the battles in Donbas. The relief of Kursk region is similar to Kharkiv region, there are a lot of forests, a lot of large forests, very dense, very complex relief, a lot of beams, a lot of water bodies, rivers. In other words, the fighting there is going on around the communication hubs, i.e. the villages, which are the hubs where the roads are converging. The fighting is taking place around the dominant heights, so it is of a cellular nature. And the fighting is taking place on a very wide front, a dense front, a positional front like the one in Donbas, where there were trenches, trench lines, dugouts everywhere. That is, the fight is now for tactical initiative and who will better take control of this territory. What's happening now? The enemy initially underestimated the scale of the Ukrainian command's plan and did not concentrate significant operational reserves here. In other words, there were tactical reserves, it was the area of responsibility of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division of the Western Military District. And the enemy tried to reinforce it with various units. There were Russian special forces units, the 2nd MID special forces brigade. And they thought to keep our troops on the border. A fairly strong defense line was built along the border. A network of very high-quality strongholds, company and platoon strongholds. Everything is underground, there are no people on the surface, and there is no need to come out at all. Firing positions underground, mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns, concrete firing points, surveillance cameras, multi-channel communication. And very reliable shelters. Concrete dugouts, concrete firing points. All communication routes are covered with at least wood and a large layer of soil. Several meters. Therefore, to destroy these strongholds with artillery fire is simply unrealistic and requires a large amount of ammunition. Our soldiers broke through this defense in one day in the areas of attack, it was done quickly, corridors were opened and the troops moved forward. Now there is a battle for the control of this large forest area, which was taken, we can see on the map that the Ukrainian troops are close enough, they are close.
To the north of Kursk and Kurchatov, where the Kursk nuclear power plant is located, it is literally 30 kilometers away, and we are already here. Therefore, of course, the enemy has concentrated a significant grouping there to prevent further advancement of our troops. This is the data of our General Staff. We have observed the advancement up to 35 kilometers from the state border. We see that the enemy has set up three tactical groups and the Kursk military command, and three tactical groups to operate in each operational direction. The Russian media, on Russian channels, have published a list of military units and formations that Russia has already deployed to this area to conduct combat operations. This list is confirmed, most of the names of these units are confirmed by our intelligence, confirmed by open source data. Now it should be noted that the enemy has deployed two full marine brigades to this area, these are the operational reserves of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, the 155th and 810th Marine Brigades in full strength. Two more motorized rifle brigades have been partially redeployed, the 200th motorized rifle brigade, which has been partially redeployed, part of the forces, rather 1-2 battalion tactical groups, no more than 1-2, because it was the main force fighting in Vovchansk until then. This means that the enemy was forced to pull back part of its forces from Vovchansk. The enemy also pulled part of the forces from the Kharkiv direction, the enemy said that the 7th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 18th Motorized Rifle Division is now being pulled to that direction, to the Kursk region. What is interesting in this case is that the 18th Motorized Rifle Division and the Russian 11th Army Corps have not weakened, but have strengthened and are very actively attacking in the direction of the village of Lyptsi in the Kharkiv region. Very fierce fighting has been going on there for a week now. So, obviously, the 11th Army Corps is throwing all its forces in order to improve its tactical position in this particular area. So on the one hand, part of the forces have been redeployed, but on the other hand, they continue to carry out very active offensive actions in their area of responsibility. It is also interesting that part of the forces, apparently one armored personnel carrier, was redeployed from the 15th Motorized Infantry Brigade, which previously operated in full force in the Avdiivka direction. Unfortunately, it is likely to be only one or two battalions at most, because the enemy is not reducing its main forces in the Avdiivka direction, or in the Pokrovske direction, unfortunately. And there is no reduction in the intensity of hostilities there, the enemy has a numerical advantage there. Perhaps it is not overwhelming, but it is there. And new waves of infantry are constantly accumulating. The partial redeployment of forces, unfortunately, concerns only a few units, a few formations. It does not apply to all Russian forces. That is, there are two full marine brigades, two partially motorized infantry brigades, and 12 intact motorized infantry regiments. Including the two regiments that were deployed by Akhmatov's forces, which were deployed by Kadyrov's order. There are also some special units there, the Second Special Forces Brigade, and other special units. And in the Kursk region, the enemy is really using a large number of high-precision weapons and a large number of drones, especially lancet drones, reconnaissance wings. This means that the enemy has also deployed UAV units from the Kherson region, several units of attack drones, and flying reconnaissance drones in the Kursk region. That is, there are a large number of drone units there, a large concentration now. A large concentration of troops, an increasing concentration of troops. So what conclusion can we draw? The offensive operation in the Kursk region, the creation of a sanitary buffer zone, this operation has definitely distracted, it has not only secured the borders of the Sumy region, but it has also distracted a very significant number of enemy operational reserves. But in general, unfortunately, there was no outflow of forces on the main directions of the enemy's offensive. And those groups that are advancing on the cities of Donbas, on Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, New York, Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Selydove, Kurakhove, Vuhledar. Unfortunately, there is no noticeable outflow of forces in these areas. The enemy's main forces are continuing their offensive there and are constantly receiving replenishment and reinforcement. The enemy has also concentrated large forces there, including high-precision weapons, aviation, and ammunition for artillery. Therefore, the situation is very, very threatening. It is very threatening, and Kursk region, unfortunately, is on its own. Look at the number of directions where the enemy is advancing, and one direction where we are advancing. Unfortunately, one direction of the offensive cannot be secured or the enemy cannot be forced to stop fighting on the other eight. Unfortunately, the enemy is not diverting significant forces from Donbas despite all the threats to the Kursk NPP. This did not happen. Although we can see that certain redeployments of forces to the Kursk direction took place primarily in the line where the troops of the Western Military District and the Leningrad Military District of Russia are located. So, they moved some of their forces there and continue to do so. But these troops were fighting in the Kharkiv region, and the small outflow of forces that took place there, well, noticeable, but still small, did not reduce the enemy's activity in the main areas of Donbas. This is the problem. Also, where the enemy is in certain areas of the Kharkiv region, the enemy also continues to be active on the offensive. I mean, I'm talking about the Lyptsi area, and there they continue to try to push us out of the city completely in the area of Vovchansk.
As for the activity of Ukrainian soldiers, we have seen that there have been active actions in recent days, the 3rd Assault Brigade has been conducting offensive actions. We don't have complete information now, but the brigade posted a video, and there is a lot of information about those battles. The 3rd assault brigade has advanced in the direction of Svatove, significantly advanced. There are also advances in the counter-battles near Lyptsi, the 13th Brigade of the National Guard Charter has also advanced in one of the frontline areas. But unfortunately, these successes, these real successes, are again specific to that direction. In the Kharkiv region, they are straining the enemy's forces, preventing them from maneuvering and moving troops to Kursk. These are important, urgent offensive actions. But, dear friends, I want to say that the importance of the offensive in Kursk is beyond doubt. Everyone has only one question: the distribution of resources, the distribution of reserves, the distribution of replenishment, the distribution of high-precision weapons and drones for this or that direction. Because fighting in the Kursk region cannot in any way cover the real strategic problem of the enemy's attack on Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad- Selydove. This is a key communication hub that cannot be lost and cannot be surrendered in the way we have already done. Both in Avdiivka and then after Avdiivka.
Answers to questions.
Yurii, do you see any signs of our troops losing manageability in the Pokrovsk direction? What consequences could this have for the Defence Forces in the East?
Friends, I see the manageability, well, I am in touch with the command of almost all brigades in this direction. I can tell you that the loss of manageability there, if there is any, is, in my opinion, a problem of the organization of our troops. At the level of the operational and tactical command, which is in charge, and at the level of the operational and strategic command, which is in charge. Well, there are serious shortcomings in this. The shortcomings are also natural, because we have the OTG and the OSGT, as I have said many times, these are temporary structures that are not responsible for anything, they are not responsible for the troops. They are not responsible for the arrows on the map, for the lines on the map. In fact, these are administrative structures, such as desk clerks. Colonels and generals are appointed as desk clerks, who see their task only in scheduling the permanent operations instructions there, and if they lose a position, they have to regain it. If they lose it, they have to regain it. Stop, hold, deploy a company here, a company there. At this stage of the war, the OTG and the OSG are absolutely... This is where the loss of manageability really comes in. These people do not match the capabilities of the troops, do not match the tactical situation with the paperwork they do. That is, the war looks completely different on paper in the OTG and OSGT. It comes to absurd things. I want to tell you, there are strange things that happen in the OTG, that people just don't laugh at, but I don't know a single battalion commander, brigade commander, company commander who can say, I understand the actions of the command and they seem adequate to me. I don't know anyone like that. There are people who are just delicate, silent, do not comment, I will say that. But everyone is surprised. And this is the main problem. And at the level of tactics, at the level of brigade command, at the level of company battalion command, most people, there are people who cannot cope with this, it is obvious, people know it. I was talking about the situation in some brigades, the 59th, for example, but in general the situation is clear to everyone. All troops are talking about the same thing. We can stop small groups of infantry. Let's prepare the defense line in advance, cut down the plantations, make a kill zone where these small groups can be shot, disguise and hide our troops, build reliable shelters somewhere so that people can be hidden at least from mortar attacks. We will provide some logistics or the ability of people to stay in position for a long time so that they do not constantly move under the drones. And we will sight fire means. And then, when this line is ready, we will deploy troops while the fighting is going on, provide cover, prepare for combat, mine it, cover it with concertina razor wire, and then withdraw to this position. And then let the assault groups come in. This is the literal position of most commanders in this area. We don't have this. Unfortunately. We do not work in such a way that this is why we have troops holding on to poorly constructed positions to the last. Then, when the entire combat capability is lost due to the loss of a particular company, a particular battalion, the front collapses, the battalion forces back, it is no longer controllable forces back. And in this direction, Pokrovsk, there were several cases, several strongholds were built there, with concrete shelters and deeply dug in. Unfortunately, it was not a dense defense line, which is necessary, there were no cleared plantings, no mines, but strongholds were dug. And it would have been possible to defend there, they provided protection from shelling, but troops were not systematically deployed there, and already defeated units forced back there, and they could not hold anything. And we lost several well-built strongholds there. Unfortunately, there were not many of them. And now we have the same situation, the enemy is near Pokrovsk.
We cannot just surrender it to the enemy. If we don't stop it, they will continue to advance 100-200-500 meters. And this year they will reach Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Selydove. We need systemic changes. There is still time to prepare these cities for defense. For this purpose, there must be troops that are deployed to the rear position, at least 6-7 kilometers on the outskirts of these cities. The troops enter, dig in, prepare for defense, mow down those plantings, uproot them. Of course, they come in with equipment. There is still a chance to do a little bit of this. There is still a small amount of time. If you prepare these cities for defense, you can still hold on. But if you don't prepare for defense, as is the case everywhere else, then no miracle will happen. No miracle at all. And now I understand that the country's leadership is politically and informationally promoting the topic of the Kursk region. This is very good. I support it. This is the right information policy. But think one step ahead. The enemy can now capture at least six cities in Donbas in a few months. Does anyone really think that the enemy's capture of several of our cities, key communication hubs, can somehow be offset even politically by the consequences of the Battle of Kursk. These are our cities. There are 60 thousand people in Pokrovsk. How is that? There is a communication hub in Pokrovsk. There is still a coal mine there. It is the only mine in Ukraine that produces coking coal on a large scale. How is that? I just don't understand it. It's about economics and politics, logic says. Prepare for defense, don't surrender. It's a great concern. I just don't understand, I just wonder why there is such an indifferent attitude, and the country's leadership neither comments nor takes systemic measures, but just plays with words without any results.
You criticized the offensive in the Kursk region, but you promoted it yourself in your reports. If you went to see the soldiers, what was the point of the report? Where is the logic?
I did not criticize the offensive in the Kursk region. I don't know where you got that from. You can look through all my messages. All of it is available now. Recently, you can watch a video and my broadcast, a stream on this issue. Friends, I have criticized the fact that against the backdrop of systematic measures in the Kursk region, we have unsystematic measures and lack of support from operational reserves for the operation in Donbas. I'm talking about this in my next broadcast. If you, Mr. Ivan, really like the fact that we captured Sudzha with a population of 5,000, and we are now quietly surrendering a number of cities with a population of 250, to summarize. So we have different assessments. I went to see the soldiers, I went to see the situation. I welcome the fact that we are creating a sanitary zone along the borders, but the size of this sanitary zone, friends, must correspond to our capabilities. And the number of forces we send to this sanitary zone should be in line with our capabilities on the frontline. Because war is not just about raising a flag over a district center. It is the distribution of resources, and it must be adequate to what is happening on the entire front, not in one area. I emphasize that the enemy is currently conducting an offensive in eight other frontline areas. This is the issue. I hope it is clear now. Although I talked about this a lot on the last stream.
In your opinion, what is the ultimate goal of the Kursk operation? Was it necessary to carry it out now, when the situation at Pokrovsk is difficult?
Dear friends, I do not have the same amount of intelligence information as the top leadership of the General Command, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Supreme Commander's office. Of course, creating a sanitary zone, striking at the Kursk region, creating a sanitary zone along the borders is a logical military goal. In itself, conducting such operations, given this factor of surprise, is expedient. We can see what significant forces the enemy is now forced to send there. But one issue is that the number of reserves we have, people, equipment, weapons, is not infinite. If we engage in a battle somewhere in a certain direction, we have to predict what we are doing in other areas. Because if we are not doing anything in other areas, then the question is how long will the enemy's resources be diverted to the Kursk direction. And will we not end up in a situation where it diverts more of our forces than the enemy's? That's all. If the command in the Kursk direction has a clear understanding of the phasing of these actions, I can only welcome it. I am not even asking such questions now. I have only one question. If there is a prospect there, then why are there no organized efforts? Why are there no organized efforts in the Pokrovsk direction? Where are the organized combat-ready brigades? There is only one. I'm not talking about many. Just one. One brigade that would enter this area, stand on the line of defense, prepare it and ensure that it is simply the core of this front, simply repelling the enemy offensive group. This is the question.
Did the Kursk operation contribute to the withdrawal of our troops?
I do not believe that it is the Kursk operation that contributed to the withdrawal. I believe that the withdrawal of our troops is facilitated, first of all, by the lack of adequate assessment of the situation, planning of combat operations and organization of combat operations. And this is at the level of the High Command. This is the responsibility of structures ranging from the OTG to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's office. People are the same everywhere. With normal training and normal management, any soldiers in any brigade, in general, most of them, I don't mean all of them, most of them, fight adequately. The problem is that we need to assess the situation not just by pointing at the lines on the map, but by looking at the capabilities of the troops, the terrain, and the nature of the enemy's actions. If the enemy is advancing, we know where they are moving, we know the routes, we know all the points, why can't we build a defense there in advance, then force back to it in an organized manner and meet the enemy, let them come in, let them be shot at, like in a shooting range. What's stopping us? Why is there no such thing in the Pokrovsk direction? I can't understand it. What's the problem? These are obvious things.
In your opinion, is the 59th Brigade commander one of the reasons for the failure of the defense at Pokrovsk? I don't think so. The brigade commander of the 59th Brigade was responsible for his area, first of all, he is responsible for the loss of Krasnohorivka, for the loss of Nevelske and Netailove. That's what he's responsible for. He has his own area, which is a little bit in a different direction. And the way he managed and used people there. This is, of course, just... It's very disappointing. And in the 59th Brigade, this man has no respect from his subordinates.
Did you pass the data of the Russian draft dodgers to the SSU for cooperation? My friends, of course I did not. Why would I pass on the data of the draft dodgers or any data, if the SSU and all our other agencies were already in all these premises. They had access to all this, they checked everything. And more than once. Obviously, all the necessary information was obtained. I want to tell you that the Security Service of Ukraine has carried out very high-quality, thorough work in the territories liberated from Putin's troops. The SSU employees fully familiarized themselves with everything that was in the premises of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Russian special forces, and there was a base of Russian special operations forces near Sudzha. We got acquainted with everything that was in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, of course, in the military commissariat. So don't worry, Security Service, there are quite professional people there. They work on the territory and are motivated. And I want to note that SSU employees were among the first units to enter the city, the first to enter all these facilities, without waiting for someone to call them and say, "Come in, everything is cleared. In order to find all these documents, the SSU officers were the first to enter all these facilities I mentioned. The FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the military enlistment office. And other military facilities. Moreover, I showed a video of the SSU officers, even two Russian tanks of the 138th Motorized Rifle Brigade, together with paratroopers of our 80th Brigade, were captured. And this was also on the outskirts of Sudzha. We found them and moved them. So, dear friends, everything is well controlled there, and you should not think that there are some chaotic actions in Sudzha. We are doing well, the security services are working there, they are working well.
Has a large exchange fund really been accumulated in Kursk region? Will there be an exchange for Azov soldiers?
Friends, I have only the information that has been made public that we can talk about. The official information was published by the New York Times and the Washington Post. According to them, we took about 320 Russian prisoners. What I have seen, what I have heard, what I have gathered, this is not the whole figure. In general, the number of Russian prisoners can reach 500. Among them, at least 250 are Russian conscripts. And as far as I know, there are about 15 Kadyrovites. Kadyrov's fighters, as we know, are a privileged group in the Russian Federation, they are special people. And they, the Kadyrovites, the Akhmatovites, are changed instantly, first of all, they are in the full plan. So, of course, the presence of Kadyrov's fighters is a good sign. Also, a Russian lieutenant colonel of the Border Guard Service was captured at the Sudzha checkpoint. He is a very influential figure in the border service of the Russian Federation, according to what I have seen, and a very influential figure with great connections, and of course, 100% of Russians will want to exchange such big POWs first of all. Russian marines were also captured, so there is an exchange fund there, which is interesting. And conscripts are a very important topic. I mean, conscripts are also a sensitive political topic for Putin. So I hope that what has been done in the Kursk region will allow for a big exchange. At the moment, as far as I know, the total number of POWs there is up to 500 people. And there are such interesting people there... whom the Russians will want to get out first of all, because they are connected with the Russian elite there, including corruption ties, like this Russian lieutenant colonel. So he will definitely be a priority for them. Therefore, we hope for a big exchange and for the exchange of Azov people who have been there for a long time, as well as Mariupol defenders, Azov people, whom the Russians do not want to exchange.
Yurii, what would you say about the third assault in the Kharkiv region? How promising is it in the current circumstances?
I would like to say that the offensive of the third assault brigade in the Kharkiv region is a very important reinforcement of our positions from the tactical point of view. It is justified by the situation and was carried out at the right time, when the enemy is moving its tactical reserves to the second echelons in the Kharkiv region, trying to send them to the Kursk region. It was at this moment that the strike was made in a convenient area, where it was convenient and profitable for our troops to attack. Well, I'm not saying that it was profitable. It is never profitable to attack and take a mortal risk, of course. But these actions are justified from a tactical point of view. And they create additional opportunities for our troops. And this is an example of when it is possible, even on such a dense front, when the enemy has such a significant advantage in means of destruction, to dictate the initiative to him. Well, we need to look there. Any offensive needs people, needs reserves. Because people, even, it's not just a matter of losses. Well, you can imagine how difficult it is to operate physically all the time, especially in equipment. People are out of action not only because of injuries or death. They are out of action, most of the fighters, because of fatigue. Because people are not made of iron, they need to be given a break to recover, to rest, to get back into physical shape, to regain adequate mental shape and then continue to act. Therefore, a further attack on Svatove is a matter of allocating reserves, resources and munitions. And the third assault showed that, in principle, it can do this. That is why there are heavy battles going on there now, and the Russian command is well aware of this threat.
Have the captured Akhmatovites been exchanged? Did you interview them?
I did not interview the Akhmatovites, I saw them. The Akhmatovites are a very special topic, everyone knows that they are a priority exchange fund for exchange, that they will be exchanged in any case. That's why I haven't talked to them, I've seen them, and I think we will have interviews posted there. In this situation, I gave priority to conscripts. We took on a lot of conscripts prisoners, and they have relatives. And we know that conscripts are a very serious blow to Putin. And a demonstration of how he lies, how he shows that conscripts will not fight. And he has said this many times, and he lied again, and conscripts were put on the front line again. So I talked to those with whom I had the opportunity. These are conscripts, and this was a priority for me in this situation. As for the Akhmatovites, you can rest assured that they will be exchanged by themselves, the media.
What do you think about Trump's possible election as US president and his position on ending the war?
Friends, to be honest, I don't think about what will happen in the United States at all. This situation does not depend on me. This is a matter for American voters. America is built on institutions. With all due respect to the Democratic Party, to President Biden, to presidential candidate Harris, I do not consider it necessary to express my position, to say this presidential candidate in America is more suitable for us, this one is less suitable. This is absolutely an issue that, in my opinion, is as far from us as possible, because we have our own problems. And I want to tell you that any U.S. president, no matter who it is, will base his or her opinion and policy of his or her state, and the institutions, the complex institutions of the American state and society, on our defense capabilities, on our internal strength, on our situation at the front. And it is the situation at the front, the situation in the war, that is the key basis for anyone, any candidate in Europe, in America, to build their political strategy. The key story is the situation at the front. And the key factor in the situation at the front is Ukraine's ability to stop this creeping Russian offensive. Therefore, friends, for me, discussing the battles for Novohrodivka or for the village of New York is much more important than the situation in New York, in the city of New York, on that continent. And the situation in Washington. Therefore, there are priorities that depend on us, on the state of Ukraine, on Ukrainian society, on Ukrainian defenders, on the Ukrainian government, first of all, the key derivative that ensures victory in the war. To show the whole world that Putin cannot get his way by military force. To do this, we need to stop the Russians at least for a while. This is key to changing the political situation and the position of any politician in the world. If we stop the Russian offensive, and this is realistic, they do nothing extraordinary. They can be beaten, they can be destroyed. And even in these difficult, extremely difficult conditions, we see our units continuing active offensive actions in some parts of the frontline where they can. So, in order to change the political situation and strategy, in order to achieve victory, we need to focus on operational and tactical issues in Donbas. As long as Putin keeps pushing the front line with these Russian marginalized people hired for 200 thousand, unfortunately, political solutions are impossible. The enemy will play the card of our weakness, our failure. Unfortunately, this is not a victory for us. This is not stabilization. And this is not a ceasefire. That is, for the policy to work, we need to stop the enemy on the front line. This is a key condition that will provide Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian state with strong negotiating positions. That is why I am simply amazed when the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Office conducts foreign political negotiations and does not negotiate or analyze the situation at all, how to stop the Russians in specific several areas where they are advancing. This is simply amazing. Everything in the world is interconnected. You can't win in one part by losing in another. There is a big chessboard. You can't win a chess game in one area. Call it the Kursk region. Look at the chessboard. This is a model of decision-making in the modern world. Multi-move combinations, a large number of different pieces. You cannot win the situation on one flank and lose the center and the other flank. You will still lose. That is, we need a controlled situation on the entire front line. On the entire line. Not in one area. And this is the key problem why we have weak negotiating positions now. Only because we cannot stop these creeping biorobots, which are advancing in small groups of 3-5 people, in directions known to all of us, in which everyone knows for several months that they will be crawling here. And yet they crawl through. Yes, with heavy losses. The Russians have suffered terrible losses. Right now at the front, I've been talking to a lot of POWs. In Donbas, in the Kharkiv region, who have been captured now, in the Kursk region. Russia is massively recruiting all the marginalized, all the young people, all of them, for money. The contract is 200 thousand. They get a raise immediately for signing a contract, and they get allowance on appointment of 550 thousand to 1.5 million rubles. That is 20 thousand dollars. This is space money for Russia. It's just outer space money. And they are recruiting, with the help of the police, prisons, to recruit this biomass. They have discipline. And unfortunately, it is more rigid than in Ukraine, because we are a democratic state governed by the rule of law. And Russian commanders have such a tool as execution on the spot. This is what all the prisoners say. You will be simply killed. They are told so before the attack. That's why they run forward. And they are these human waves, they can crawl like that for a long time. Russia can drive them, they still have enough human potential if they crawl in small groups. If you don't stop them, and when you stop them at some point, they start to be grinded. And they surrender, and they write videos. Today I saw a Russian video of a company from the Kharkiv direction, just outside Lyptsi, which was completely ground down. By the way, I interviewed a prisoner of war from this company, and the day after I talked to the prisoner, the rest of his surviving comrades told me about the situation in his company. The video will be very interesting. So, they can be destroyed, they can be killed. There are many times more Chinese drones in the world, and now Taiwanese, Korean, European, and American drones, than there are people in Russia. The entire Russian army, along with other means of destruction, including drones, can be grinded down in certain areas if you prepare and plan such actions. And this is realistic. Unfortunately, this is not being done. And that's why these creeping offensives last for several months, they lead to such catastrophic consequences. Although yes, there are no breakthroughs at the front. The defense is not collapsing. There is just constant pressure. And this pressure must be stopped. This is the main challenge for Ukraine now. If the state and the army meet this challenge, the defense forces, Ukraine will gain a strategic advantage and the ability to conduct effective negotiations. Only then will it be possible to play out, for example, the control of a part of the Kursk region. Only then will we stop the fighting in Donbas, and then all our trump cards will start to work. Until we stop the creeping attack of these pawns, our pieces cannot play effectively, to use chess terminology. So, friends, let's not hope for some kind of panacea, some kind of mission, that someone will be elected or not elected, or that something will change. All decisions in our world are now being made on the battlefields where the war is going on. That's where political decisions are made. So, friends, I have been to many parts of the frontline in recent weeks, and I am confident that we have an army, we have officers, we have commanders, we have fighters who are motivated, who are capable of destroying and stopping the Russian offensive. And today, more than ever, I am confident in our victory. Thank you for the broadcast and glory to Ukraine!
