Ukraine launched a counterattack around Pokrovsk and Toretsk. What is this connected with?

With the arrival of spring, the offensive operations of the Russian army in Ukraine have slowed down, the intensity of attacks and the pace of advance have noticeably decreased. Ukrainian troops, on the other hand, have become more active, launching successive counterattacks and recapturing a small part of the lost territories.

The military commentator of the BBC Russian service briefly commented on what is happening on the Russian-Ukrainian front.

During the past week, Russian troops have actively continued their offensives in various areas, especially west of Donetsk. In the Velikamykhailovsk direction, they tried to break through to the north of the Mokri Yali River, and in the Kurakhovo direction to the city of Constantinople.

Russian offensive operations continued in other areas as well – in the Kupyansk and Vovchansk regions east of Kharkiv, in the Liman and Seversk regions north of Donetsk, in the Chasiv Yar region southeast of Kramatorsk, in the Pokrovsk region, in the Orikhiv region southeast of Zaporizhzhia, and in the Kursk region.

In most areas, the Russian advance is insignificant compared to the autumn-winter campaign. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its report dated March 5 found no confirmed successes of the Russian army along the entire front line.

At the same time, numerous sources, including Russian ones, confirmed reports of increased activity by Ukrainian armed forces west and north of Donetsk.


^{In general, the intensity of the fighting remains, but there are no serious results.}
In continuous counterattacks, the Ukrainian troops managed to slightly push back the Russian units attacking Pokrovsk and restore their positions.

The geography of the counterattacks of the Ukrainian armed forces is noteworthy - along the western (in the areas of Kotlino, Udachne, Novosergiyivka, Uspenovka) and eastern (in the areas of Vozdvizhenka and Vodyanoe Vtore) flanks of the city, as well as in the south - in the areas of the villages of Dachanskoye and Shevchenko.

“Geolocation footage released on March 5 shows Russian troops firing on Ukrainian armored vehicles east of Shevchenko (south of Pokrovsk), suggesting that Ukrainian forces have recently advanced in the area,” writes ISW.

Ukrainian troops have launched another counterattack in Toretsk. The city, which had seemed to be under full Russian control, has once again become a battlefield, with Ukrainian units reportedly breaking into the city and shooting almost in the center of Toretsk.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of Toretsk on February 7 (the Ukrainian city is known by its former name, Dzerzhinsk, according to Russian military sources). However, Ukrainian forces continued to control the outskirts of the city, and in late February, Ukrainian troops re-entered the center of Toretsk. According to a recent military report by Meduza, they took advantage of the rotation of Russian units in Toretsk. The Ukrainian military insists that Toretsk, like Chasiv Yar, has not yet fallen, despite the ongoing efforts of Russian troops. Ukrainian publications quoted a post on the Telegram channel of Russian military officer Svyatoslav Golikov in early March, in which he said that the Russian Defense Ministry had taken Toretsk “on credit” and that the real situation in the city was “terrible and ambiguous.”

“In the vicinity of Pokrovsk, everything is very complicated, logistics are falling apart, there are no people,” writes the Russian military blogger “BCh 3”, who is engaged in the supply of Russian units on the front line. “We are moving forward a little near Chasiv Yar, but the same picture - logistics are being disrupted, there are no people. The same is true for Toretsk - urban battles, the Ukrainian armed forces are counterattacking. We will continue to hang a banner on the leaders at all levels.

“Why are there no people? Why does the enemy have air superiority and this superiority has a tendency to grow steadily? They have wings that fly in the sky 24/7, Baba Yaga drones, repeaters that allow kamikazes to fly 20 km. In general, everything is more modest with us. The advantage in FPV drones was 1 to 6 before, and now it is even greater. This is not because we have fewer drones, although that is also the case. We have fewer operators,” the Russian blogger believes.

^{The Ukrainian armed forces have a really large number of drones and are increasing in number. Photo: EPA}
"Limited counterattacks at the tactical level"

The reasons for the slowdown in the Russian offensive and the increased activity of the Ukrainian armed forces may be various.

Most likely, after several months of continuous attacks, Russian units are exhausted and now need to rest, reorganize and regroup.

Climatic conditions also play a role - with the arrival of spring, roads deteriorate and the weather becomes more favorable for the flights of drones used by the Ukrainians.

The fact that in late January, General Mykhailo Drapatiy, the commander of the ground forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was appointed head of the operational-strategic group of troops "Khortytsia" fighting in the Donbass, may have played a role.

Since he took office, the Ukrainian troops have often deviated from passive defensive tactics, starting to retaliate and create counter-threats.

In the Pokrovsk direction, it is not a counterattack, but "limited counterattacks at the tactical level," explains Ukrainian military journalist Bogdan Miroshnikov.

"The enemy is still trying to carry out offensive operations in most areas. In addition, they [the Russians] are trying to regroup to respond to our counterattacks. But the general meaning is clear - the enemy is very tired from 1.5 years of continuous offensive. We are only beginning to take advantage of this," he writes. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”