Ukraine’s defences held fast near Pokrovsk as fierce clashes left 127 Russian soldiers dead in a wooded lane some 1 300 metres from the city’s outskirts. Footage shared on Telegram by the Bulava drone unit of Ukraine’s 72nd Brigade shows unmanned aerial vehicles sweeping through Russian positions and delivering precise strikes that turned armoured vehicles into charred wrecks.
Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that Moscow’s forces launched 23 separate assaults on Ukrainian lines around Staraya Nikolaevka, Yablonovka, Vozdvizhenka, Novaya Poltavka, Mirolyubovka, Elizavetovka, Luch, Novosergievka, Troitskoye and Andreyevka. Ukrainian troops repelled 17 of those attacks, with five still under way by nightfall. Situated at the crossroads of key highways and home to a vital railway junction, Pokrovsk has become a prized objective for the Kremlin’s troops, who have found themselves repeatedly stymied despite mounting human costs.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War report that the Russian command is pressing poorly trained recruits into high intensity assaults, conscious that colossal losses can be shouldered to score minimal tactical gains and to exert pressure on Ukraine and its Western backers during protracted negotiations. Such tactics, they warn, are aimed not at ending the conflict but at extracting concessions while maintaining the illusion of a powerful Russian army under the gaze of the Russian dictator.
In Brussels, Europe’s leaders insist that any resumption of peace talks must be underpinned by a full ceasefire. The European Union has signalled readiness to tighten sanctions if Moscow fails to agree. The German chancellor stressed that unity among European and American partners is essential, even as he acknowledged the former US president’s interest in a temporary truce. Many remain sceptical, noting that promises made behind closed doors rarely translate into meaningful respite on the front.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the UK Ministry of Defence has exposed another facet of Russia’s military malaise. On 22 April a massive explosion shattered Russia’s 51st GRU munitions depot near Kirzhach in Vladimir Oblast, destroying more than one square kilometre of storage that once held an estimated 105 000 tonnes of weaponry. British intelligence attributes the blast to internal failures rather than enemy action, highlighting chronic deficiencies in Russia’s handling and storage of munitions. The loss marks perhaps the largest self‑inflicted depot destruction of the conflict, underscoring the widening gap between Russian war aims and its capacity to sustain them.
