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Newsweek
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Ukrainians Declare Victory in Battle of Pokrovsk
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russia's battle for the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk is a "failure," according to the head of a Ukrainian think tank, after many months of bitter fighting and slow Russian gains around the settlement. Why It Matters Russia has long hoped to take the Ukrainian stronghold of Pokrovsk, but rather than attacking the settlement directly, Moscow has skirted to the south of the Donetsk town and advanced toward the border of Ukraine's neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub, has borne the brunt of the fiercest frontline clashes for much of the last year. The town has been referred to as a "fortress" settlement, key to Ukrainian defenses in the east and connected to other critical defensive cities. What To Know "We are seeing a coordinated Russian information campaign tied to their failure — the fact that they have lost the battle for Pokrovsk," Serhii Kuzan, from the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, a Ukrainian think tank, said in an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster, Radio NV. While Moscow has advanced around Pokrovsk, progress has been incremental for Russian troops and the town remains in Ukraine's hands. Ukraine has said Russia's casualty count is "many times higher" than Ukraine's around Pokrovsk. This could not be independently verified, but Russia is known for its "meat grinder" assault tactics, or overwhelming Ukrainian defenses with high numbers of troops while racking up eyewatering casualties. A Ukrainian soldier walks past damaged buildings in central Pokrovsk, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. A Ukrainian soldier walks past damaged buildings in central Pokrovsk, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. AP Photo/Michael Shtekel Kuzan said Ukraine had "properly executed" its defensive strategy for Pokrovsk, disrupting Moscow's timelines for seizing the town and "foiling their much larger offensive plans for this summer." "We disrupted their plans, and now they are falling behind their own schedules — schedules that are critical for their summer offensive campaign," Kuzan said. "They can't push us out of Donetsk Oblast because we stopped them under Pokrovsk," he added. Kyiv has warned Russia is pulling together reserve forces for a major push, while senior Ukrainian officials say Moscow launched a concerted effort in two areas of northeastern Ukraine earlier this month. Ukraine had said that it launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August last year, partly to pull Russian resources away from Donetsk settlements like Pokrovsk. Russia has recently advanced along a railroad line west of the village of Shevchenko, which sits south of Pokrovsk, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank, which tracks daily changes to the frontline, said on Tuesday. Ukraine's military said early on Wednesday it had "stopped" 75 Russian attacks around Pokrovsk over the previous 24 hours, including around Shevchenko. In a later statement on Wednesday, Ukraine's top soldier, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said Russia had "significantly increased" attacks close to Pokrovsk in a bid to reach the Dnipropetrovsk region, despite announcing a unilateral ceasefire due to come into force in May. "The Russian command daily throws new units into battle, drives its soldiers to their deaths, reports on illusory successes and victories," Syrsky said. The Kremlin declared a ceasefire on Monday to observe the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War. This is the term used by Russia to describe its participation in World War II after it joined the Allies in 1941, and the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Moscow has consistently claimed its invasion of Ukraine aimed to "de-Nazify" the country, a pretext widely rejected. Russia will not conduct any military operations between midnight on May 8 and midnight on May 11, the Kremlin said, adding that "Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example." The announcement was greeted with skepticism by Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday its forces had seized a village in the the north of the Donetsk region. Newsweek could not independently verify this. What People Are Saying The Russian government said on Wednesday: "As a result of active offensive actions, units of the West military group liberated the settlement of Novoye in the Donetsk People's Republic." Syrsky said on Wednesday: "Despite loud statements about readiness for a ceasefire for the May holidays, the occupiers have significantly increased the intensity of hostilities, focusing their main efforts on the Pokrovsk direction." What Happens Next It is not clear yet if and how the failure to capture Pokrovsk will affect Russia's alleged plans for a new summer offensive, where Moscow allegedly hopes to deploy troops on motorcycles to counter Ukraine's drones.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Ukrainian brigade says North Korean troops have 'disappeared' in its area as Pyongyang's forces grow quiet
A Ukrainian brigade says it hasn't seen North Koreans for a while in its part of the front in Kursk. It comes as North Korea abruptly reduced its presence in the war after weeks of intense fighting. But it's unclear what Pyongyang is planning after conflicting reports of withdrawal emerged. A Ukrainian brigade in the Kursk region said it's recently no longer been encountering North Korean troops, as questions remain over Pyongyang's plans for the war front. Petro Gaidashchuk, a senior communications officer for the 80th Air Assault Brigade, told Radio NV that while North Korean troops were still reported elsewhere on the battlefield, they've "disappeared" from his brigade's part of the front. "If we look at January, the front was saturated with North Koreans, in particular in the area of responsibility of the Galician Brigade," Gaidashchuk said in Ukrainian during the interview published on Monday. The 80th is sometimes referred to as a Galician Brigade. "As of now, the reports of their presence are partially true," Gaidashchuk said of the North Koreans. "We have not observed them in our part of the front. Other brigades interacted with them a few days ago. As of now, they have disappeared." Gaidashchuk said his brigade theorized that the North Korean soldiers may have withdrawn due to heavy losses. "They withdrew, we do not know why," he said. Other reports in the last month have said the same: After weeks of attempting to storm Ukrainian positions across Kursk, North Korea's forces have grown relatively quiet since late January. A spokesperson for Ukraine's special forces told local media at the time that his branch hadn't seen North Korean soldiers for weeks, saying that the Russian-allied troops had been "forced to withdraw." The New York Times, citing Ukrainian and US officials, reported similar observations the day before, writing that Pyongyang's forces were "taken off the front line." South Korea's national intelligence agency also said in early February that North Korean troops had been pulled from the fighting. Western intelligence estimates that about 11,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to fight Ukraine late last year and that about 4,000 have been wounded or killed since. The UK Defense Ministry said the losses likely caused North Korea's troops to temporarily withdraw and "rest and refit before redeploying." But Pyongyang's presence in Kursk doesn't seem to have disappeared completely. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on February 7 that North Korean troops had returned to the front lines in "new assaults" in Kursk, though it's unclear to what extent. Speaking to The Warzone in late January, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov also said that North Koreans had significantly reduced their in Kursk, but warned against dismissing them as out of the picture. "We have to wait some time to see if there are any real changes or if this is just lower activities for a couple of days," Budanov said. He disputed reports that North Korean troops had completely withdrawn. The uncertainty over North Korea's next move comes as Pyongyang and Moscow strengthen their defense ties to weather the international sanctions imposed on their economies. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent troops, weapons, and ammunition to Russia, with Western intelligence reporting that he's receiving financial assistance, technological expertise, and food from Russia in exchange. North Korea sending troops to Kursk sparked concerns in the West that Russia's invasion was drawing the direct involvement of other states. But it's now unclear if Pyongyang's intervention will escalate as feared or recede. More recently, Zelenskyy spoke triumphantly on Saturday of Ukraine's fight against North Korea's forces. "We completely destroyed the North Korean units that Putin had to bring in because his own forces weren't enough to hold back our counteroffensive," he said in his speech at the Munich Security Conference. Yet he also cautioned against complacency when it came to Pyongyang. "Make no mistake — North Koreans are not weak," he said. "They are learning how to fight now, how to fight the modern war." Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comments sent by Business Insider outside regular business hours. Read the original article on Business Insider
