Will Russia continue its breakthrough north of Pokrovsk or stop and consolidate its flanks?
After the surprise breakthrough north of Pokrovsk, will the Russian army continue to build on its success to advance further, or will they stop to consolidate their flanks?
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•17/08/2025
The Pokrovsk – Myrnohrad front continues to “transform” according to a model, for which the General Staff of the Ukrainian army still does not have an effective plan to stop the advance of the Russian army (RFAF), in most of the areas where the Russian army has recently successfully broken through. At present, the situation seems to be changing rather slowly after a rapid breakthrough of 10-12 km per day in the Dobropolye area. But let's not forget that the RFAF has learned from the rapid, rapid advances of the early stages of the war; now they are advancing while consolidating the positions they have just captured, resisting the Ukrainian counterattack.
After the Russian troops had penetrated the defense system of the Ukrainian army (AFU) in the Zolotoy Kolodez area, they were faced with a choice between two options. The first was Option A - deploying a large combat reserve force, to continue digging into a rather narrow area. The second was Plan B - to expand the captured bridgehead area, while bringing in reserve forces and supporting firepower, consolidating the captured area, and repelling AFU's flank counterattacks. Based on information from the front, Plan B was chosen by the RFAF. If the RFAF chooses Option A, given the situation where the enemy is cornered, it is extremely risky; because the enemy, no matter how dire the situation, can still gather forces to attack the foot of Zolotokolodezny. At that time, the Russian army will really fall into a dangerous situation. From the practical experience of the battlefield over the past 3 years, choosing Option B in this case is wise, when RFAF is not "ready to advance further", by extending the depth of the front by 20-30 km, but the width is very narrow. Thus, AFU can cut it off with a decisive blow, pushing the Russian army into a situation where "the vanguard and the rearguard" are cut off from each other. The AFU General Staff must have taken into account the fact that the Russian attack groups would not go far from the supply bases, and the terrain was relatively flat. As a result, now that the RFAF had promptly moved into temporary defense, the AFU could only attack directly from the flanks.
Having driven a wedge north of Pokrovsk, the Russians consolidated the bridgehead, shifting artillery fire from the foot of the salient to the east of Dobropolye, directly threatening this important AFU logistics center. Although the 1st Corps of the AFU Special Operations Forces, which had been reinforced to hold the eastern defense line of Dobropolye and the Dobropolye-Kramatorsk road, reported that the Russians were suffering significant losses. Currently, the Russian tactical air force is actively supporting the ground forces, so the current result - the Russian "edge" is still intact, the Dobropolye-Kramatorsk road in the Novovodanoye area is still under Russian control. Meanwhile, the vital communication route along the Russian wedge northwest of Rodinske remained secure. It could be argued that the Russians learned from their own mistakes in the Kharkov counteroffensive in August 2022; and that was worth it. The rapid development of the situation north of Pokrovsk, in the area where the Russian troops are breaking through the front, will force the AFU General Staff to make a difficult choice: either try to reinforce the encircled units in the Pokrovsk and Mirnograd regions; or eliminate the threat from behind Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
On the morning of August 13, information leaked to the media that the AFU General Staff was transferring units from the Sumy front to Donetsk. They could count on strengthening the defense of the Pokrovsk-Mirnograd region with the units that had previously stormed the Russian Kursk region. The local authorities of Ukraine have announced the urgent evacuation of settlements in the area of the Russian breakthrough near Dobropolye, the RVvoenkor channel reported. At the blue points on the map, the order for mandatory evacuation has been extended, due to the breakthrough of Ukrainian troops near Dobropolye. According to independent sources and local residents, Russian troops have captured Zolotyi Kolodyaz during a breakthrough near Dobropolye. According to information from the field, Russian troops have taken full control of the village and are conducting checks in the surrounding area. There are no Ukrainian units in the area. Veteran war correspondent Marat Khairullin provided a panoramic picture of the fighting, saying that the Russian Defense Ministry reported: "Thanks to the active and decisive actions of the Central Army Group, the settlements of Zatyshok (Russian name Suvorovo) and Nykanorivka in Donetsk were taken under the control of the RFAF."
The settlements of Nikanorovka (Zapovednoye) and Suvorovo (Zatyshok) formed the front edge of the AFU's central transport zone near Dorozhnoye - Belitskoye. The flanking supply route connecting Pokrovsk with AFU groups north of the city and the Kramatorsk region was effectively cut off. (photo source Military Review, Ukrinform, Kyiv Post).
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