🛡️ How Russia Besieged Donbas' Key City 🇷🇺🔥 | HistoryLegends Explains Ukraine's Turning Point

4/16/2025

⚔️ The Battle That Changed the Donbas!
Join HistoryLegends as we uncover how Russia strategically besieged Ukraine’s most vital city in the Donbas region. 🗺️🚧

🧠 Tactical brilliance or brutal warfare?
🏙️ What made this city so critical?
Step-by-step military movements
📉 The impact on Ukraine’s defense lines

This detailed analysis goes beyond the headlines to expose the deeper truth behind one of the most decisive battles of the Ukraine conflict. 🎖️📜

💬 Was this the beginning of the end for Ukraine’s hold on Donbas?
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Transcript

00:00My friends, as you know, Pokrovsk is a very strategic city and logistics node that supplies

00:05the entire Ukrainian army on the Donbass front. Ukraine can simply not afford to lose it.

00:12Of course, the Russian army knows this. Between November and January, the Russian army advanced

00:17methodically towards Pokrovsk, carrying a wide, relentless flanking maneuver. Soon,

00:23Pokrovsk stood besieged along a 25-kilometer front. For a moment, it seemed as if the Russian

00:29army was unstoppable. Zelensky was about to make a speech saying how Pokrovsk was not strategically

00:36significant anyway. Russian soldiers were sharpening their shovels aboard their post-Soviet

00:42Lada pickup tracks, rambling towards Pokrovsk for final assault. But this was about to change

00:49drastically. But I am back. Back from under the ground. In the middle of winter, Ukraine launched

00:57rapid and local counterattacks, which forced Russian troops to a full stop.

01:01I want those conscripts!

01:03The war is changing. Drones now dictate the tempo of battle by watching everything from above.

01:09Both sides are now throwing everything they have into this battle. From special forces,

01:15entire tank regiments, and Gopniks with two weeks of training. To fully understand what happens,

01:20let's explore step by step, week by week, how the Russian army first approached Pokrovsk and then

01:27analyze what actions Ukraine used to prevent the fall of such an important city. Look, I'll be

01:33honest, I wanted this video to be 15 minutes max. But I was digging for information, let's just say that

01:40I got a little bit carried away.

02:03This was the front-line situation around Pokrovsk by the 1st of November. The large town of Selidovy had

02:17just fallen into Russian hands. The urban areas of Khodivka and Novo-Khodivka had also been captured

02:23by the enemy. This means Ukraine's first defensive belt, located 10 kilometers outside Pokrovsk,

02:29had been fully breached. Their second line of defense consisted of the settlements of Myrnohrad,

02:35Shevchenko, and Udachne, added to many smaller settlements in between, all of which were located

02:41in a four-kilometer radius from Pokrovsk. From there, the Russian army command had three options.

02:47So option one, follow this rail embankment, focus on Myrnohrad, and flank Pokrovsk from the east.

02:55Option two, Blyat Maneuver, and storm Pokrovsk head-on. Option three, follow this other railway line,

03:03and flank Pokrovsk from the west. Let us begin and see which one of these options the Russians picked.

03:10Between the 4th and the 10th of November 2024, the Russian army had five spearheads pushing inside

03:17enemy lines, like splinters with an average of 4 kilometers gained in multiple directions. To do so,

03:23instead of big infantry platoons, the Russian command dispatched these larger units forward in small

03:29teams of three to four men, in order to avoid being detected. If one of these soldiers gets detected,

03:36though, GG, well played. The most problematic for the Ukrainian defense was this Russian push along the

03:47rail embankments going from Visneve to Khrihorivka in Petrivka. The Ukrainian command simply didn't have

03:53enough infantrymen, linebackers to physically block the Russians. Further north, the Russian efforts to

04:01push out of Novohrodivka proved to be unsuccessful. The Ukrainian command concentrated its best forces on

04:07the northern part of the sector, and maybe due to a shortage of reserves, had to neglect the other sectors.

04:15The Ukrainians were able to hold the line there, because they managed to supply and rotate out

04:19their units sitting on the contact line using MRAPs going back and forth between the rear and the

04:25front. However, any loss of such vehicles would seriously impact the situation in this sector.

04:31During the following week, Russian forces bypassed the settlement of Petrivka and advanced another 2

04:37kilometers. During this maneuver, the Black Usars of the 15th Motor Rifle Brigade captured the village of

04:43Khrihorivka. Thing is, the Russians made heavy use of small buggies to achieve this.

04:48Look, certainly not Silicon Valley type of high-tech, but it gets the job done. Let's just agree that the

04:54guys riding those into battle must have balls of steel carved deep into the mines of Donbass.

05:01That's how the hamlets of Novo-Alexandrivka, Yurivka and Novodmitrivka came under partial control of the

05:08Russian army. The Ukrainians sent the bulk of their reinforcements to hold this tree line and prevent

05:13enemy assault detachments from using it to reach Myrnorhad. In this footage, we see an M2A2 Bradley

05:20that got immobilized by a Russian mine. The IFV then started firing all around, and as it tried to

05:26reverse, it hit another mine. Hold on, how did these Russian mines even get there? More on that later.

05:34Between the 18th and the 24th of November, while the priority of the Ukrainian command was the

05:39immediate defense of Myrnorhad, Russian forces managed to clear the fields along the E-50 highway

05:45and advance 1.8 kilometers towards Dachenskyeh. And once again, Russian forces used very creative

05:51ways to achieve this. In this video, you can see two Russian soldiers on a motorcycle driving

05:57above the speed limit on this highway as they get chased down by a Ukrainian police drone.

06:03From what I saw, the file was pretty hefty. Who can even say it cost them a leg.

06:07At the same time, Russian storm detachments pushed 2.5 kilometers west of Petrivka, parallel to the

06:14rail embankment, and reached the settlement of Jovty. The Ukrainians immediately tried to knock out

06:20the Russian infantry with a tank strike. But as you can see in this footage, the tank was immobilized,

06:25first by FPV drones, and then by some Russian troops lurking in the woods, which fired an RPG

06:32at point blank. I mean, from this distance, even a guy with one day of training should be able to

06:37hit that target. During the last week of November, the Russians achieved some sort of tactical

06:42breakthrough with all these small teams of riflemen infiltrating Ukrainian lines. From their positions,

06:48they stormed Jovty and captured a three-kilometer portion of the rail embankment. The Russian army

06:54was less than two kilometers away from the stronghold of Shevchenko. It was only a small

06:58village of less than 2,000 inhabitants before the war, but whose location is extremely important now,

07:05since it was the last major urban area before Pokorovsk. So as a summary, those were the starting

07:11positions in early November. And this is everything the Russians captured by the end of the month.

07:17For now, it's clear that the Russian command picked option 3,

07:20Flank Pokorovsk, from the west, December 2024. On the 1st of December, Russian infantry units

07:28attempted to storm this forested area near Mykolaivka, but they were stopped by bomber drones of the 38th

07:35Marine Brigade. After yet another probing attack, the Russian command abandoned further attacks in this

07:41direction, meaning option 1 was completely off the table. The next day,

07:46south of Dachensky, the 68th Yiga Brigade targeted a Russian armored column and its infantry component

07:53right as they dismounted from the vehicles. Let's analyze what happened. We can see a Russian BMP

07:59disembarking its riflemen in a tree line. At the same time, Ukrainian artillery is bombarding this

08:05other BMP, which is now driving at full speed towards the disembarkation point. The BMP then just

08:11rammed into the tree line as if its life was on the line, as the soldiers inside exited the armored

08:17vehicle. The first BMP is then struck by the Ukrainians. The footage cuts and we only see

08:24another column of four vehicles driving at full speed towards the tree line. And that's when,

08:30BOOM! Ukrainian artillery hit bullseye on the lead vehicle. Big Ukrainian victory! The assault was

08:38crushed! NO! Because in reality this tree line only held a couple hours and eventually fell by the 4th of

08:46December. We are winning! That was not the worst because on that same day,

08:53somehow the Russians reached Shevchenko. From its positions in Djovde, the 15th Motor Rifle Brigade

08:59attacked Novopostinka two kilometers away. Using small teams aboard good old Soviet Lada pickup tracks,

09:08the Ukrainians prepared a counterattack with an armored fist. But the Russian drone directed an

09:13artillery strike and put the lead tank out of action. After this, the two armored fighting

09:18vehicles behind quickly retreated. And that's how the unknown village of Novopostinka came under Russian

09:24control. And then, somehow they secured a foothold inside Shevchenko. How? How is this even possible?

09:33We know this because a tank of the Ukrainian 59th Motorized Brigade appeared and started blasting at

09:38buildings in this part of town. By the 7th of December, Russian Tornado MRLS systems carried

09:44preparatory strikes on the positions of the 32nd Mechanized Brigade in Novotroitsky. Fighting reached

09:50the village and that's when drone operators of the 15th Karadak Brigade released a never-ending stream of

09:56small loads right on top of Russian assault squads. That's not all, the Russians also advanced

10:022000 meters in the direction of Novotrud. You guessed it, along the railway line. The next day,

10:10on the 8th of December, the Ukrainians lost this entire portion of the rail embankment. What a disaster.

10:17Just like with the pipelines, they're using the same old tricks over and over again. And why wouldn't

10:23they? It's working. Further south, the Russian army spearheads continued their unrelentless push

10:30westwards. One left from Pustinka and the other from Pushkine. However, the situation around

10:36Shevchenko kept deteriorating. This is where Putin unlocked a side quest for his generals. The amazing

10:43race to the border of Dniepo-Petrovsk Oblast. Which team would get their first? Group Novotroitsky,

10:5011.5 kilometers away, or Group Pushkine, 17 kilometers away? We're now on the 9th of December. Just look

10:59at all the ground the Russian forces captured within the span of a week. They advanced 2 kilometers

11:05towards Detchensky, expanded the foothold inside Shevchenko, and stormed the village of Novotroitsky.

11:12From these new positions, the Russians also launched a pincer towards Novolenivka. Additionally,

11:17we can mention how east of Pokrovsk, the Ukrainians abandoned this 2,000 meter long tree line east of

11:23Hrodivka. But that was really the only tactical success in this part of the front for Russia.

11:29I'm not even sure the Russians actually attacked. I'm pretty sure the Ukrainians just retreated and

11:35gave it up. During the following week, Russian forces of the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade, nicknamed

11:41the Mad Dogs, stormed Shevchenko. There, they saw brutal fighting. By the 11th of December,

11:48three quarters of Shevchenko was already under Russian control, as entire assault teams spread

11:53across town. In the process, they took hold of very well-built Ukrainian fortifications,

12:00which, as you can see, have a lot of tunnels to protect from FPV drones as well as underground

12:06firing positions. A response was needed to avoid a complete debacle, so the Ukrainian command immediately

12:14dispatched some reinforcements. For this mission, they selected the elite 425th Scala Assault Battalion.

12:21Here we have footage of one of their tanks, an M113 and a BTR that got damaged by mines on the outer

12:28part of town during these counter-attacks. Really, how is that even possible? Well, according to the

12:34rumors, Russian sappers are literally taking the mines in their hands and placed them all around the

12:40village on the main axis leading into Shevchenko. Let me tell you, I'll believe it when I see it.

12:47The command staff of the 425th Scala Battalion went back to the drawing board and prepared the

12:53new attack. But this time, they would strike the western side of Shevchenko. In this footage,

12:59we can see a Ukrainian tank blasting Russian troops occupying a school. Shortly after,

13:05a Guardian armored security vehicle fired at a tree line before disembarking a fireteam.

13:10The Ukrainian riflemen then cleared the buildings, one by one. One day later, on the 13th of December,

13:16the Russians stormed these tree lines and started pushing towards Pishchane. Scala immediately

13:23counter-attacked. Here, an M113 APC drove along the northwestern edge of town and then hit a mine,

13:29forcing the crew and the passengers to quickly exit the vehicle. After that,

13:34a new attempt involved an M2A2 Bradley. It reached the western side of Shevchenko,

13:39before being targeted by Russian FPV drones 200 meters away from where the first M113 was destroyed.

13:46A second Bradley was deployed to rescue the passengers, but it was also immobilized.

13:52Despite these losses, the Russians abandoned their positions and withdrew from the tree lines. It was a

13:57much-needed tactical success for the Ukrainian forces. Then it was the Russian command that went back to

14:04the drawing board and realized all these Ukrainian counter-attacks came from this road. So as you

14:10can see in this footage, a Russian sabotage team placed mines on this road that were just there

14:15in open sight. Shortly after, a tank drove through and detonated on this minefield.

14:21Okay, what we just saw would be something out of a Call of Duty mission. Let me tell you,

14:25I'll believe it when I see it. Okay, so let's pause a second and analyze what the Russians are doing.

14:32Once the Russians capture a settlement, they essentially barricade themselves by sprinkling

14:37mines at all the entry points into the village that the enemy could use to counter-attack. In other

14:44words, they're camping. Let's be honest, we all used the same tactic before, right? Planting claymores at

14:50every entry point and see that KD ratio go up. Anyway, back to the battle, by the 16th of December,

14:57the Russians were able to push through in Shevchenko and restarted their attack towards Pishchane.

15:02With their left flank secured, the Russian command launched operations on the right flank of Shevchenko.

15:08As a glimpse of the battle, here you can see a Russian fireteam of six men pushing in open terrain

15:13while being targeted by enemy mortars. According to the footage, despite Ukrainian drone strikes,

15:19Russian rifle teams managed to seriously infiltrate the rail embankment as well as the settlement of

15:25Novitrud. While this combat action was taking place, Ukraine's 11th Public Order Operational

15:31Brigade of the National Guard tried its best to prevent the Russians from taking Novo Troitsky,

15:37but for some reason they struggled to hold the line. What do we do in this case? Call 425 Scala.

15:44An M2A2 Bradley emerged out of nowhere, and the fireteam inside the vehicle knocked out the

15:50Russians from a couple buildings. This counterattack forced a number of Russian

15:57soldiers to escape from their positions. Scala also recorded the moment when a squad of 12 Russian

16:03soldiers was disembarked into a tree line before being targeted by Ukrainian artillery.

16:08On the 13th of December, all Ukrainian positions inside the settlement had been abandoned.

16:13That same day, the Russians mopped up the Hamlet of Pushkine, albeit after some considerable losses

16:19of equipment. The Russians immediately pressed their advantage and now rushed their armoured

16:23vehicles towards Ukrainka. One of the tanks was destroyed after a javelin strike on the turret,

16:29and the second one was disabled by what seems to be a mine. When you think about it,

16:34armed vehicles face so many threats nowadays. Mines, anti-tank weapons, artillery strikes,

16:40and FPV drones. On the 15th of December, the Russians launched another strike towards Pokrovsk.

16:47Their sultanates departed from this tree line and advanced 1700 meters all the way towards Tachensky.

16:53If the settlement fell, the next wave would be able to head straight for Pokrovsk. Naturally,

16:59after all these gains, the Russian army took a well-deserved rest day. Actually, a rest week

17:05that lasted from the 16th to the 22nd of December. They used this tactical pause to resupply, rotate

17:12out their assault formations, and bring fresh substitutes from the bench. Meanwhile, they targeted

17:18Ukrainian reinforcements operating at the rear. Like this Leopard 2 from the 155th and the Kyiv

17:25mechanized brigade that was immobilized and then disabled, 3 kilometers from the contact line by

17:30multiple Landsat drones. But the same thing happened for the Russians. Because of all the drones flying

17:37around, most of their vehicles have to remain 10 kilometers behind the front. As a matter of fact,

17:43it's also the same situation for their troops. A Ukrainian Heimar strike targeted a Russian training

17:49facility in Halistinivka. This means Russian recruits were only trained 18 kilometers from the contact

17:56line. It's not a surprise that this little break from the squat rack brought in big results.

18:02Look at all their gains the Russians made when they restarted their offensive on the 23rd of December.

18:081.5 kilometers along a 10-kilometer front west of Novo-Troitsky. They reached all the way to the edge

18:15of Pischane. As a result, Ukrainian forces had to withdraw from numerous pockets, bringing enemy

18:20forces all the way to Ukrainka. By the 29th, most of Dachensky came under Russian control. The settlements

18:28of Novo-Elizavetivka, Pischane, Solone, Ouspenivka, Novo-Vasilivka were now all in the gray zone.

18:34But one thing you cannot forget is that in this sector, the flat and open terrain is ruthless. In these

18:40videos, Russian infantrymen are literally hunted down. No mercy. This one out of desperation,

18:47even trying to throw his rifle at the incoming FPV drone, but to no avail. Honestly, the worst for me

18:53is when these drone operators added in some sort of funny music to these FPV drone strikes. Nah, I find

19:01it coming from a very poor taste. And that goes for both the Ukrainians and the Russians. Russian forces

19:08kept pushing into this wide open space west of Pokrovsk. Here you can see a Russian tank with

19:13a mine troll that got hit by drones, and then a multitude of other vehicles that got targeted

19:18in this same push. However, like we said, this flat, open terrain is ruthless, so it's the same thing for

19:24the defenders. In this footage, FPV drones swarmed this Ukrainian BRDM-2 armored vehicle as it fired

19:31towards Russian forces near Novo Olenivka. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the events that

19:38happened on the east side of Pokrovsk. 25 kilometers east of Pokrovsk, the Russians launched an attack on

19:45the village of Vozvychenko on the 26th of December. And by the 29th, the southern part of the settlement

19:52came under their control. If Vozvychenko falls, then the Russians would only be four kilometers

19:57away from this very strategic crossroad linking Pokrovsk to Kostiantinivka. Put in play, it would

20:04enable the Russians to cut the Ukrainian front in Donbass in two. Unfortunately for the AFU,

20:09Vozvychenko fell on the 1st of January and came under control of the 5th Uplot Motor Rifle Brigade.

20:16Only this farm complex on the east side of town was still disputed. Overall, the attack cost the

20:22Russians 3 IFVs and 1 tank. Once again, let's go through a summary of what happened in December.

20:28Those were the starting positions at the beginning of the month, and this was the front-line situation

20:34at the end of December. The Russian plan was clearly option 3, to bypass and flank Pokrovsk

20:40from the west. They secured Shevchenko, thus breaching Ukraine's second line of defense,

20:46and now controlled a 13-kilometer-wide bulge along a 30-kilometer front just outside Pokrovsk.

20:53It seemed as if the writing was on the wall for Ukraine. The general staff of Ukraine already

20:58wrote the coping reports to the western media to explain their failures on the battlefield.

21:04Human wave assaults

21:05January 2025. How about we start by mapping out the order of battle of both sides.

21:12On the Ukrainian side, we have the 38th Marine Brigade operating near Mykolaivka. The 32nd

21:17Mechanized Brigade defending the Salone direction. The 25th Airborne Brigade defending Lysivka.

21:23The 59th Motorized Brigade in Novovassilivka. The German-trained 153rd Brigade in Novojeli-Zavitivka.

21:31The French-trained 155th Mechanized Brigade is operating near Vovkove. Ukraine's 1st Tank Brigade is

21:37operating near this crossroad. And the 117th Heavy Mechanized Brigade is deployed north of Vosvijenka.

21:44The Ukrainian Front in the Pokrov sector was also supported by the Scala Battalion and various

21:49Special Forces units. Now, as for the Russian armed forces, we have the 5th Brigade Uplot in this

21:56village of Vosvijenka, supported by the 33rd Motor Rifle Regiment right behind it. There are the

22:01Mad Dogs of the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade in Cevchenko. The Black Usars of the 15th Motor

22:07Rifle Brigade in Solone. The 30th Motor Rifle Brigade in Novojeli-Zavitivka. The 433rd Guards

22:13Motor Rifle Regiment is operating near Novovassilivka. And the 35th Motor Rifle Brigade is fighting on the

22:19Zeleni Axis. As you can see, the balance of forces is pretty even, if and only if both sides have their

22:26units at full strength. All right, let's jump into the battle. By the 3rd of January, the settlement

22:31of Solone, Dachensky and Novojeli-Zavitivka also came under Russian control. Meanwhile,

22:37heavy fighting took place in Zeleni, which was now caught in a pincer, but also in Pisciani and

22:42Novovassilivka. In the settlements, numerous Russian teams of infantry aboard what the Ukrainians call

22:47LAT, or Lehovy Automobile Type Pickup, light vehicle of the pickup type. That's when a Ukrainian

22:54tank of the 59th Motorized Brigade started balancing Russian positions with good old high explosive rounds.

23:017.5 kilometers to the south, we witnessed another Russian armored attack. A Russian

23:06tank tried to outflank Ukrainian positions via this lake, but then it hit a mine and then

23:11nose-dived into an anti-tank trench. These guys drove just as well as my Chinese neighbor. After

23:17that, small two-man binomes advanced across open terrain to mop up the remaining dugouts. The next

23:23day, Russian troops from the 30th Motor Rifle Brigade raised their banners on the village, and as usual,

23:28started planting mines on the main axis to prevent enemy counter-attacks.

23:33Vladi put mine here so it makes the world bleat! While we could feel that there was this big push

23:39westwards, some Russian units still tried to creep their way forward towards Pokrovsk. Like

23:45these Russian riflemen using tree lines as camouflage near Vovkovy. Then the Russians activated the Mad Max mode

23:51with a little post-Soviet twist. You know exactly what I'm talking about. In this one,

23:57you can see a charge by six lightly armored vehicles using their high maneuverability to zigzag

24:02and avoid enemy fire. Despite some losses, they managed to capture this Ukrainian trench bastion.

24:08In response, it seems that a Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank tried to counterattack, but it was hit multiple

24:13times by enemy drones, which then led the Russians to claim Vovkovy as part of the Russian Federation.

24:20East of Pokrovsk after the fall of Vosvijenka, the Ukrainian front fell apart. The Russian command

24:26poured entire rifle teams into the breach despite all the enemy drones. Meaning that by the 6th of

24:31January, Russian forces pushed towards Baranivka. This formed complex outside the village and the

24:36settlement of Yelizavytivka. We even have footage of how this column of armored vehicles advanced four

24:42kilometers before pushing inside the settlement of Yelizavytivka. We see a first group of two,

24:47followed by a unit of four vehicles. Shortly after that, they got shelled and quickly dispersed.

24:53Back to the direct vicinity of Pokrovsk, Zeliny was now caught in a pincer and our fighting also

24:59spread to Lysivka. From there, we have a video of a Ukrainian paratrooper running and throwing a

25:03TM-62 anti-tank mine into a dugout. Due to its proximity to Pokrovsk, we can't believe a lot of close

25:10quarters fighting took place in this village. This entire chain of villagers was about to fall

25:15to the Russians. So, the Ukrainian command concentrated mortar and drone strikes in this

25:21sector, forcing many enemy units to flee. But the 12th of January, Russian forces cleared all the

25:29remaining Ukrainian salience along the Pokrovsk front. The settlement of Novo Vasilivka also came

25:36under Russian control. Same thing for Novo-Yelizavytivka in the south. Meanwhile, friendly troops

25:41advanced three kilometers towards Udachne and only 500 meters away from this rail embankment. Thus,

25:48Russia formed a six-kilometer salient west of Pokrovsk. The next day, the Russians took hold of the

25:53railway line, while the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade raised its Samurai Bana on Pischane. Russian forces now

26:01controlled the five settlements forming Ukraine's last line of defense before Pokrovsk, namely Pischane,

26:08Shevchenko, Zeleny, Dachensky and Sivka. In mid-January, we learned that the Scala assault battalion

26:16was being expanded into a regiment and to this effect was reinforced by modernized Leopard 1A5 tanks.

26:24If you're a tank expert, please let me know if these modernized Leopard 1A5s can make a difference.

26:30On the eastern side of the map, the Russians pushed two kilometers out of Vosvijenka and finally

26:35captured this farm complex. So much so that some Russian vehicles reached the very strategic

26:41crossroad linking Pokrovsk to Kostiantinivka, all the while reenacting Tokyo Drift. The situation was

26:47not looking good for Ukraine. The Pokrovsk garrison was getting flanked both from the west and the east.

26:54They were facing the repeat of the Battle of Bahmut, especially after the 15th of January when

27:00pro-Ukrainian Deep State UA conceded the loss of Pischane after enemy forces secured the industrial

27:06zone. In this video, you can see the progression of a Russian assault squad into the mining complex

27:11as the last Ukrainian troops holding the area withdrew.

27:14All hope is failing, my lord! The battle is almost done!

27:18Fast forward to the 19th of January. Russian assault detachments flanked Pokrovsk from the

27:23west by pushing towards Virovy. Simultaneously, there was heavy fighting in Kotlinie and four

27:29elements got a foothold in Udachne. In response, the Ukrainians carried multiple fire missions against

27:34several settlements including the outer edge of Shevchenko, thus confirming the loss of the town to

27:40the enemy. That seemed to have been part of some probing attack because on the 21st of January,

27:45the Ukrainians launched another small counterattack, but this time towards Udachne. A similar action

27:50was carried out four kilometers to the south in Ushpenivka, which knocked out the Russians from the

27:55settlement. And we go back to fighting in flat, open terrain. The nightmare scenario is when your

28:01armored vehicle is hit in the open and you have no other choice but to flee and run fully exposed,

28:09hoping you can find some cover before you hear some mosquitoes buzz above your head.

28:15Let's take a look at the situation in Udachne and Kotlinie by the 24th of January.

28:20After this Ukrainian counterattack, the Russians had lost control of the train station in Udachne.

28:25Meanwhile, they tried to flank Ukrainian positions by pushing along these three lines. That's how Mikhail,

28:30Vladdy and Bogdan were ordered on a patrol in open terrain on their first day at the front.

28:37What could possibly go wrong? Their sacrifice was not in vain because by the 25th of January,

28:44the village of Kotlinie fell into an operational encirclement. As Russian drones softened the

28:49enemy's strong points, rifle squads launched the assault. In this first formation, they attacked from

28:54different directions and cleared the trench line, one dugout after another. The fall of Kotlinie would

29:00be a disaster for Ukraine, as it would allow the Russian armed forces to use the cover of this rail

29:06embankment to push right into Pokrovsk and perhaps even cut off the city from its vital main supply route.

29:15In that case, we would enter the Pokrovsk. End game. The situation also deteriorated east of Pokrovsk. On the

29:2221st of January, Ukrainian forces abandoned this two-kilometer-wide salient south of Vosvijenka.

29:28And the next day, the Russians used their momentum to snatch some more ground. That's how they finally

29:34secured this farm complex located only one kilometer from the crossroad. Additionally,

29:39they managed to advance towards the village of Baranivka. Meanwhile, the Russians tried another

29:44assault against Yelizavytivka, but it was repulsed. As you can see here, a column of eight armored vehicles

29:50was tasked with securing the settlement. But it got intercepted four kilometers before even reaching

29:56the village. And most units were destroyed or abandoned during this push. Oh yeah, before we wrap

30:01up the month of January, there was one last thing that happened near Pokrovsk. By the 31st of January,

30:07Kotlinie was almost fully under Russian control. And that's not all. The situation became extremely

30:12critical with the capture of this two-kilometer-long treeline north of the village. And to make everything

30:17worse, Russian forces returned to Adachne. It seemed that the Russian army was unstoppable.

30:24But this was about to change drastically.

30:26But I am back. Back from under the ground.

30:30February 2025. There were no major territorial changes between the 1st and the 7th of February,

30:37as both sides used this as a tactical pause. And that's exactly when the Ukrainian counteroffensive

30:43started. On the 7th of February, the Ukrainian 68th Yiga Brigade launched a probe towards Pischanyi,

30:50which then developed into a full-fledged defensive, which reached the center of the settlement.

30:55In this video, you can see a Ukrainian Maxpro MRAP transporting an assault team into the urban area.

31:01For the south, on the 8th of February, two Ukrainian tanks tag-teamed a Russian unit in Srebnyi,

31:0624 hours later east of Pokrovsk. The Russians captured this farm 600 meters away from the crossroad.

31:13But then the Ukrainians counter-attacked and regained some ground in this farming complex of

31:18Odiany Druhy. That same day, the Ukrainians also counter-attacked in Tachenskyi,

31:23and reconquered the eastern part of the village.

31:25By the 10th of February, the Ukrainians controlled 1,400 meters along the main road in Pischanyi,

31:31knocking out the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade from the settlement.

31:35Only the industrial zone on the east side was still contested.

31:39On the southwestern edge of the map, by the 11th of February, Srebnyi came under Russian control,

31:45and fighting now reached the neighboring village of Zaporozhia.

31:48Uspenivka was now labeled as part of disputed territory, and on the eastern edge of the map,

31:54the Russians reached the strategic crossroad north of Vozvijenka.

31:59Back towards Pokrovsk on the 13th, a Russian attack against Sukhyar failed,

32:04and men from the 25th Airborne Brigade captured nine enemy soldiers.

32:09The Ukrainians now tried to strike the overextended west flank of the Russian army,

32:13besieging Pokrovsk.

32:15On the 14th, the 225th Assault Battalion disembarked a rifle squad of seven men into the village of Srebnyi.

32:22At the same time, another armored attack tried to cut off the Russians from the south.

32:27It was a well-coordinated maneuver, but as you can see,

32:31an M2A2 Bradley was left behind before being disabled by some lurking Russian infantrymen.

32:38Despite these efforts, despite these counterattacks,

32:41Srebnyi and Zaporozhia had to be abandoned by the Ukrainians by the 16th of February.

32:46East of Pokrovsk, the Russians were expanding their area of control around Baranivka,

32:51when Ukrainian troops emerged out of nowhere and reclaimed the crossroad on the 18th.

32:56The next day, the Ukrainians expanded their bridgehead,

32:59counterattacked towards Lisivka, and regained four kilometers of the settlement.

33:04Meanwhile, heavy fighting was taking place in Pischanie.

33:07In this video, a Ukrainian T-64 BV tank from the Skala Regiment

33:11was disabled by combined work of the artillery and drones.

33:15At last, Kotlinie came under Russian control.

33:18The Russian soldiers pulled out their vodka bottles, their borscht,

33:22all the while celebrating their victory while watching a show by Oleg Gazmanov.

33:28They got a little bit tipsy and they let down their guard.

33:31That's when, on the 26th of February, the Ukrainians counterattacked and reconquered the village of Kotlinie.

33:37So this was the situation in early February.

33:40And this is how the front looked like by the end of the month.

33:43Barely any territorial changes could be reported

33:46for the Russian army around Pokorovsk.

33:49The only place where they could report marginal gains was on their western and eastern flanks.

33:55March 2025.

33:57By the 3rd of March, there was a lot of back and forth in Pischanie.

34:01The next day, the Ukrainians counterattacked in Lisivka,

34:04knocking out the Russians from the place.

34:06Simultaneously, scouts from the 425th Skala Assault Regiment stormed this important

34:12strongpoint three kilometers north of Uspenivka.

34:14The attack must have been so sudden and rapid that the Russian garrison simply fled from its

34:20positions.

34:21On the 5th of March, close quarters battles now erupted all throughout Pischanie,

34:26bringing the settlements back into the gray zone.

34:28Even the industrial zone saw heavy fighting with lots of back and forth as well.

34:32Now you can see the strategy behind the Ukrainian battle plan.

34:36Instead of concentrating all their forces and launching them all in one big counteroffensive

34:42at one part of the front, they did something different.

34:46Just like in Taritsk, the Ukrainian command used small tactical assault teams

34:51to strike Russian positions all along the defensive belt across from Pokorovsk,

34:55but also on the enemy's left flank.

34:58Essentially, they were using hit and run attacks that were very difficult to spot for the Russians.

35:03Overall, the objective for the Ukrainians was to regain this line of settlements

35:07and provoke the collapse of this Russian salient west of Pokorovsk by attacking it from all directions.

35:14The only settlement left to storm to complete this Lebensraum plan was Shevchenko.

35:21And this is exactly what the Ukrainians did.

35:23During the night, a column of three Ukrainian MRAPs departed Pokorovsk and headed towards Shevchenko,

35:29when they were met by VT-40 FPV drones.

35:32Naturally, other vehicles also participated in this attack.

35:36And despite all the drone strikes, many infantrymen managed to be disembarked into Shevchenko.

35:41And many such raids followed to reclaim this very important village.

35:47More and more Ukrainian troops were brought into Shevchenko, as we can witness by these M113s

35:52intercepted by Russian drones.

35:54Russian artillery responded by firing the Zemlideli remote mine-laying systems

35:59to disrupt the enemy's main axis of communication.

36:03So now we know.

36:04When Ukrainian vehicles suddenly detonate well within their territory,

36:08it's because of one of these remote mine-laying systems.

36:11And if they blow up close to a village, it's because Dolik and Bieber went camping.

36:17At the same time, the Ukrainian command intensified the counter-attacks in Udachny.

36:21In this video from the 9th of March, we have a crispy-cream HD footage of a rotation

36:27of Ukrainian soldiers from the contact line into two Humvees.

36:30What's also interesting is how we have a rare footage of an FPV drone missing its target.

36:36So contrary to what we could see online, these drones are not invincible and not all of them

36:41actually reach their intended targets.

36:44Shortly after, operators of the 144th Special Operations Forces Center stormed the same area

36:51and captured nine Russian soldiers.

36:53With loudspeakers, they told the enemy combatants to surrender.

36:56And since nobody moved, they detonated parts of the building,

37:00after which everyone inside panicked and ran out with their hands in the air.

37:04On the eastern flank, the 33rd Motorized Rifle Regiment was pushing towards Tarasivka.

37:09But trouble was brewing on the left flank,

37:12when a Ukrainian tank from the 1st Tank Brigade carried a fire mission against this farm complex.

37:18We can see how one of the tanks fired a total of 10 rounds into the hangars of the farm,

37:23pinning down enemy forces.

37:25This allowed sappers from the 6th Battalion of the 12th Brigade Azov to plant explosives on the

37:30main bridge of the much-contested crossroad.

37:33And to make sure the Russians cannot use it, they simply detonated the entire infrastructure.

37:39A couple days later, another tank left for a fire mission, this time against the farm complex in

37:44Vadyany Drouhe.

37:46Thus indicating that the position is not in the gray zone, but firmly under Russian control.

37:51According to Russian drone footage, by the 16th of March, an increasing number of Ukrainian

37:56scouts of the Scala Regiment were operating on the western side of Shevchenko.

38:01These guys are literally everywhere!

38:04They better put Batman's face on their flag!

38:07Whoops, actually, it's already taken by Russian Special Forces.

38:10In this footage, we can see two lightly armored vehicles entering the village.

38:14One of them hit a mine, and the other was immobilized by an FPV drone.

38:17After that, everyone inside quickly disembarked, including the crew and this five-man team of ghosts.

38:24If we look at it on the map, we can see how they drove around the village, instead of pushing

38:29through the center, which was most likely controlled by pockets of resistance of the 74th

38:34Motor Rifle Brigade.

38:35In this video, a Ukrainian fireteam quickly retreated after facing too many Russian reinforcements.

38:41And this is one of the vehicles that the Ukrainians left behind.

38:44Historians in the future will be hella confused trying to decipher what all these hashtags meant

38:51on these destroyed vehicles.

38:53It became clear that whoever would win the Battle of Shevchenko would get the key to Pokrovsk.

38:59All across this part of the front, the Russian command scrambled for reinforcements.

39:04Like this squad of seven riflemen pushing across a field towards Pishchane.

39:09The formation was two scouts at the front and the rest behind.

39:13But out of luck, they got targeted by cluster munitions.

39:16Oh yeah, talking about this.

39:18Both sides concentrated their firepower on the specific village.

39:22Here we see a Ukrainian M777 firing one round after another.

39:27In this frame, we can even see how they're using M795 105mm high-explosive projectiles.

39:33These have a range of 22km, so you get an idea of how far they're positioned.

39:38During these artillery duels, the Russians spotted and targeted a Caesar self-propelled howitzer

39:4312km away from the front.

39:44We also have a video of a GBU-62 JDAM-ER guided bomb delivered by Ukrainian Su-27 against the

39:52Kotlin mine.

39:53On the 24th of March, Ukrainian sabotage groups operated west of Solone, forcing Russian artillery

40:00to target this bridge using high-precision Krasnopal rounds.

40:03Allegedly, it was to disrupt Ukrainian logistics.

40:07But whoops, this bridge was well inside Russian territory.

40:1148 hours later, as Russian storm detachments advanced in Pischany,

40:15Ukrainian forces pushed beyond the rail embankment in Kotlinie.

40:19The only position still under Russian control was the mine on the east side of Kotlinie,

40:24which was regularly visited by swarms of Chinese FPV tourists.

40:28The next day, a Ukrainian assault detachment launched an attack against Eleni,

40:33but was stopped by a tank of the 35th Motor Rifle Brigade.

40:36By the way, notice all the trenches built right inside the village.

40:40And that is something we cannot properly see on satellite imagery.

40:43The entire battlefield is littered with trench works and an infinite number of shell craters.

40:50At the end of March, Ukraine drone operators started

40:52paying more and more attention to the village of Shevchenko.

40:55This village had to be captured at all cost.

40:59So these drones continuously harassed exposed Russian rifle teams to force them out of this area.

41:06Meanwhile, Ukrainian counter-attacks could also be reported to regain full control of Zviarovey,

41:11as well as this very large fortified Bastion.

41:14But it seems Ukrainian assault squads that were disembarking in this sector were soon targeted

41:19by bomber drones.

41:20As you can see during the month of March, the Russians barely made any progress.

41:25As a matter of fact, it's the Ukrainians that rolled back some of the Russian gains around Pokrovsk.

41:30So for two months now, the Russian offensive in this direction essentially came to a standstill.

41:37April 2025.

41:39In the first days of April, the front around Pokrovsk didn't change much.

41:43Perhaps the Ukrainian army had exhausted all of its reserves.

41:47Or it was just another tactical pause.

41:50In Nudachne, riflemen of the 425th Scala Assault Regiment mobbed up the village, supported by a

41:56number of recon, FPV and bomber drones.

41:59By the 4th of April, the Sivka returned into the grey zone.

42:02And two days later, Russian storm detachments regained a foothold inside the village.

42:07Other than that, lots of shelling in Shevchenko,

42:10while Russian assault teams cleared the northern part of the settlement house by house.

42:14And then, to everyone's surprise, Ukraine went back on the offensive.

42:19On the 7th of April, Ukrainian assault units advanced 600 meters in Shevchenko.

42:24And half the village went back into the grey zone.

42:27Honestly, in reality, it's much more complicated than that.

42:31The front line is not fixed.

42:33We should rather be talking about a concept called La Tactique de la Tache d'huile.

42:38Or the tactic of the oil stain.

42:41Where both sides hold certain parts of town, but there's no uniform area of control.

42:46So in reality, the entire village of Shevchenko should be inside the grey zone.

42:5024 hours later, the Ukrainian 152nd Brigade mopped up a 2km portion of the rail embankment

42:56between Nudachne and Kotlin, putting the Russian forces in the trade station and the mining complex

43:01in a very critical position.

43:03Actually, because of this push, one group of Russian soldiers suddenly found themselves

43:07behind enemy lines.

43:09They were immediately attacked by FPV kamikaze drones.

43:12And after that, Ukrainian special forces carried out an all-out assault,

43:17capturing at least two Russian soldiers in the process.

43:20Not far from there, operators of Ukraine's 3rd Special Forces Regiment also mopped up

43:25the last remaining strongholds in Kotlinie.

43:28It was a very difficult mission.

43:29Because of all the debris, all the ruins, and all the basements, enemy troops could be hidden anywhere.

43:35There were also rumors that the Ukrainians were preparing for yet another counter-strike against

43:40Lisivka.

43:41According to the latest news, on the 14th of April, some Ukrainian units tried to mount an assault against

43:46Zeleni, but were intercepted by Russian artillery before reaching the village.

43:51Meanwhile, detachments of the Skala Regiment continued their raids inside the urban area of Shevchenko.

43:57However, at this point, it is becoming evident that the streak of Ukrainian counter-attacks

44:02around Pokrovsk have lost their momentum.

44:05In summary, the Russian army advanced rapidly between November 2024 and the end of January 2025.

44:12But eventually, their offensive against Pokrovsk stalled after rapid and local counter-attacks

44:18by the armed forces of Ukraine.

44:20For Ukraine, we can expect them to continue their pressing on the salient in order to regain some

44:25much-needed breathing room around Pokrovsk and prevent the Russians from gaining a foothold

44:30in the urban area of this very strategic Ukrainian city.

44:34For Russia, I only see two options.

44:37Option one, the Russians double down on the western side and creep their way towards Pokrovsk at all

44:42costs.

44:43However, due to the concentration of enemy drones, it becomes very difficult for the Russian army to

44:48bring necessary reinforcements into this area, and many vehicles are hit and have to be left behind.

44:54In an attempt to regain control of their supply lines, some Russian troops were equipped with

44:59brand new FPV drone detectors.

45:01I'm pretty curious to see if these will actually work.

45:04At the moment, for Russia, the most important settlements to secure are Shevchenko and Pishchane.

45:10But there's a second option for the Russian army.

45:12That is to jump on a defensive mode around Pokrovsk,

45:15while they shift their focus on the eastern side of the city.

45:19They could explain why Russian artillery has been ramping up strikes in this direction,

45:23like the spectacular bombardment by the 255th Artillery Regiment,

45:28obliterating an entire tree line near the village of Novapoltavka.

45:32Meanwhile, in support of this theory,

45:34on the 12th of April, a Russian column tried to outflank Yelizavetivka from the west.

45:40Although this probing attack failed, it could indicate increased activity in this sector.

45:45From there, they could push an open field towards the large urban area of Novo-Ekonomichne,

45:50from where they could start a grinding battle, house by house, towards Pokrovsk.

45:55Oh, actually, there's an option three. I just thought about it.

45:58The Russians could simply stay on the defensive around Pokrovsk, along the entire front,

46:03have the Ukrainians come at them, and use their firepower to attrit the Ukrainian reserves,

46:08all the while going on a fallout offensive in the South Donetsk direction, mopping up this entire

46:15salient that is now extremely vulnerable.

46:18That's all I have for you today. Let me know in the comment section what you thought of my analysis.

46:22If you're new to this channel, make sure to like and subscribe.

46:25And if you don't want to support my work, make sure to check out my Patreon or PayPal.

46:28The links are in the description below.

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