File image.
Despite deploying large reinforcements in the Dobropillia salient and the nearby city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk direction, Kiev forces continue, as of October 5, to lose ground in both fronts.
In the Dobropillya salient, the Tsentr [Center] Group has reportedly secured the southern outskirts of Vladimirovka. The advance in this area appears to be the beginning of an operation to completely clear the pocket held by Kiev forces which splits the salient between Vladimirovka and Toretsk to the north.
Separately, there have been some reports of Russian troops resuming their advance from Kucheriv Yar towards Zolotyi Kolodyaz in the northwest.
Kiev forces launched a series of counterattacks in salient in recent weeks, after bringing large reinforcements. While these counterattacks slowed down the Russian offensive in the salient and allowed Ukrainian troops to hold into their two pockets – between Vladimirovka and Toretsk, as well as between Nykanorivka, Boikivka and Zatyshok – they failed to push Russian troops back, or even to sever their main supply route.
The situation of Kiev forces in Pokrovsk to the southwest is even worse. The Tsentr Group of Forces made more gains in the southern part of the city in recent days. Kiev forces also lost some of their positions in the center of the city.
Russian troops also renewed their advance in Rodynske, located right to the north of Pokrovsk. Nearly all of the settlement’s eastern outskirts have been captured. The troops also expanded their control in the northern and northeastern parts of the settlement.
The fall of Rodynske, which appears to be nearing, could be catastrophic for Kiev forces in Pokrovsk, as the settlement oversees a key route linking the city with Dobropillya to the north.
All in all, the Ukrainian decision to prioritize the defense of the Dobropillia salient and Pokrovsk, which was reportedly made by the commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky himself, has proven to be very costly.
Reploying key formations like the 82nd and 95th airborne units in such shallow, exposed fronts lacking defensive depth mirrors past blunders in Orikhiv and Krynky.
The redeployment has thinned defenses in Kupyansk and Liman, crippling logistics amid ammunition shortages and jammed supply lines.
Political pressure is reportedly mounting on Syrsky, with whispers of his ouster if the defensive lines collapse. While no full front collapse looms yet, Pokrovsk risks becoming a fatal trap – strategic, logistical, and reputational – potentially paving the way for a Russian push toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, tipping the balance in Donetsk irreversibly.
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