Russia's Rapid Advances Near Pokrovsk Come Amid Big Losses, ISW Reports

Russian forces continue to gain tactical advantages on the southern approaches to Pokrovsk but face significant losses, severely undermining their capacity for future offensive operations, ISW  reported on December 11.

According to ISW, Russian forces are likely to attempt to encircle Ukrainian positions between Novyi Trud and Dachenske in the coming days. This maneuver would provide more favorable positions for launching attacks on the village of Shevchenko, located northwest of Novyi Trud and southwest of Pokrovsk.

"Russian forces continue to make tactical gains south of Pokrovsk as they attack into Ukrainian weak points and attempt to conduct a turning maneuver to directly assault Pokrovsk from the south," the ISW wrote.

The advance around Pokrovsk is coming at a great cost for Russia. A Ukrainian brigade officer reported that Russian forces have suffered nearly 3,000 casualties in the Pokrovsk area over the past two weeks.

“Continued Russian losses at this scale will impose a mounting cost on Russia's already-strained force generation apparatus. Russian forces may well continue making gains towards Pokrovsk, but the losses they are taking to do so will temper their ability to translate these gains into more far-reaching offensive operations,“ ISW added.

Earlier, it was reported that Russian forces targeted Ukrainian fortifications west of Vidrodzhennia and south of Novotroitske near Pokrovsk, the Donetsk region. Following prolonged clashes, two Defense Forces positions were destroyed, and another was captured.

It was previously reported that Russia's daily average losses, both killed and wounded, reached a record high in its war against Ukraine in November 2024.