Russian Officers Attempt to Flee Pokrovsk Front as Morale Collapses

Russian officers deployed on the Pokrovsk axis are increasingly attempting to leave frontline positions, submitting formal requests for reassignment to rear-area posts or quieter sectors, according to information gathered by agents of the Ukrainian resistance network Atesh on January 6.

Atesh sources embedded among Russian forces report that officers serving in units of Russia’s 39th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade have been filing transfer requests at a growing rate, citing the deteriorating situation on the ground.

According to the group, Russian command has responded by pressuring officers to remain in place, using threats of disciplinary action, demotion, and long-term career obstruction. Officers are reportedly reprimanded for territorial losses by their subordinates and ordered to submit reports claiming a “stable situation” that, according to Atesh, does not reflect battlefield realities.

The resistance group says officers are also being forced to sign official documents that significantly downplay or distort actual conditions on the Pokrovsk front.

Atesh describes widespread demoralization among Russian officers in the area. Many are said to lack familiarity with local terrain and reportedly view deployment to the Pokrovsk direction as a dangerous exile rather than a routine rotation.

Fear of Ukrainian strikes, sabotage operations, and partisan activity is described as constant. Officers are also reportedly concerned that residents have already passed information on Russian command posts and troop movements to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Earlier, Ukrainian Air Assault Forces reported that units of the 7th Rapid Response Corps struck a Russian attempt to move reinforcements along the Shevchenkove–Pokrovsk logistics route as Moscow sought to build up for an assault on the village of Hryshyne.

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