February 9, 2026
The Russian occupation army is advancing in the area of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, taking advantage of three key advantages. First, it is using tactical aviation and dropping KABs on Ukrainian positions when our units lack the necessary air defense assets. Second, the enemy has consolidated its positions on the heights in these two towns and, therefore, has gained the ability to “see” and engage Ukrainian targets more effectively. The third advantage is the enemy’s manpower, which they recklessly slaughter. The state of care for the wounded in the Russian army is no different from what it was during World War I.
However, despite all this, the enemy’s military objective of capturing the entire Donetsk region remains a matter of years . Moreover, taking control of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration could take up to three years and, as before, would be accompanied by colossal losses for the occupying army. However, after withdrawing from Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, the enemy will face solid lines of Ukrainian defense and lose one of its advantages—the heights.
Colonel Vladimir Polevoy , head of communications for the 7th Airborne Rapid Response Corps , spoke about this in an exclusive interview with OBOZ.UA.
– Judging by the DeepState map, Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are already completely occupied by the enemy, as they are marked in red. Is this true? What does the gray area on the map mean? Can this data be considered completely accurate? What adjustments should be made?
“An amendment, of course, needs to be made. The DeepState map is merely a guide. You’ve heard many times that there’s no continuous front line right now , that there are isolated strongholds, observation posts, and firing positions, which very often don’t have continuous communication links between them; they’re isolated, and the logistics to them are also isolated. And this is true for both sides. That is, just as we hold the line through these isolated strongholds, the Russians are advancing and infiltrating our interposition space in small, isolated groups. Therefore, the solid line on the DeepState map is entirely arbitrary.
What does this mean? How can this be visualized? If we replace the solid red line with red dots, and then add, say, our blue dots, they will be very mixed up. For example, in certain areas there will be more red dots. DeepState then draws a line based on its own criteria to provide a reference point.
So, answering the question about the current situation and whether we are present in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, we can say: yes, we maintain isolated positions in the north of these cities , but they certainly don’t form a continuous line of defense. We have isolated positions from which we can monitor enemy logistics and movements and engage them, for example, using FPV.
– Could you tell us in more detail what specific tasks the Airborne Assault Troops are performing today in this section of the front?
“Airborne assault troops are always units that carry out maneuver, strike, and counterattack operations. For example, if we recall the Dobropolye salient—remember those “hare ears”?—we essentially counterattacked there with airborne assault and assault units. Afterward, individual units of the 1st Army Corps consolidated their positions there, since that was their defensive zone.”
There are also airborne units, which we use for counterattacks to repel enemy penetrations that threaten, for example, our logistics or the withdrawal of our troops when it comes to regrouping. Thanks to the Airborne Assault Troops, we also gain crucial positions in the defensive zone.
You said the enemy is infiltrating our interposition space. In your opinion, what is enabling the enemy’s advance, particularly in this sector of the front? What is their key advantage? Is it manpower or something else?
“The enemy is making comprehensive use of its tactical advantages. Let’s start with the fact that it has a virtually absolute advantage in tactical aviation . It makes extensive use of so-called guided aerial bombs, or KABs. It launches them from distances beyond the reach of our air defense systems.”
Speaking of our brigades or corps, we have no air defense systems at all that can shoot down aircraft at such a distance, and the enemy takes full advantage of this. They have the ability to concentrate virtually all of their tactical aircraft on a specific section of the front, at a breakthrough point, for example. We’ve had cases where the number of aerial bombs and high-explosive devices dropped on our small area of responsibility reached 160 per day. These are incredibly high numbers.
This happened when half of all air strikes on Ukraine were carried out specifically on the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration. On average, the enemy carries out a quarter of all tactical air strikes in our direction and has an advantage in this regard.
The enemy then captured and consolidated its positions on the heights of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad . These cities are located above the Kazeny Torets and Grishinka rivers. These heights, therefore, allow them to establish electronic warfare assets, electronic reconnaissance, repeaters, surveillance equipment, and outposts for drone pilots. Drone pilots can “see” further, thus having better situational awareness, flying farther, striking farther, and more effectively.
We, therefore, are limited by altitude. If we’re in the Grishinka River valley or near the village of Grishino, we can only see the northern slope, the northern part of Pokrovsk. Beyond the hill, our vision is limited; the radio horizon there is completely blocked for us. Therefore, we can’t send drones there, because drones need radio access. Radio waves propagate the same way as light waves, meaning drones can’t fly where we have shadows. This is the second advantage the enemy has gradually gained.
The third advantage is the one you mentioned. The enemy has a manpower advantage . And they translate it into constant assaults, constant pressure. Their attitude toward personnel is radically different from ours. We see this in the ratio of medical losses to irrecoverable ones. That is, the enemy currently has 130 wounded for every 100 killed. But we have 500-600 wounded for every 100 killed. This means we’re saving our people, we’re retrieving them. Meanwhile, the enemy’s wounded become dead , irrecoverable, because they’re not being pulled out of their positions.
At the same time, the nature of the firearms’ casualties is the same. This includes artillery, FPV, and so on, so our wounded-to-kill ratio on the battlefield is the same. However, upon exiting the battle, our ratio is 1 to 5, while the Russians’ is 1 to 1.3.
These are horrific figures. They’re worse than they were during the First World War . This is the level of the Crimean campaign of 1856, when there wasn’t even proper sanitation, when surgeons, so to speak, didn’t wash their hands.
– Given these advantages for the enemy, as well as the Kremlin’s appetites, which today demands that Ukraine completely withdraw its Armed Forces from Donetsk, do you believe that the enemy will be able to achieve a complete occupation of the Donetsk region through purely military means?
“We’re not talking about a complete occupation of Donetsk Oblast right now. That’s the enemy’s intention; we’re aware of it, we understand it. The capture of the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration is a clear military objective for the enemy. That’s why they’ve been trying to pass through Pokrovsk for over a year and a half, to reach this agglomeration from the south. But they’re failing.”
He’s already “taken” Pokrovsk four times, “encircled” it, but never been encircled. The fighting is, of course, very intense and very difficult for us, given the circumstances we’ve discussed, but the enemy hasn’t broken through our defenses .
And then, beyond Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, there are new lines of continuous defense —solid anti-tank ditches, then a line of “dragon’s teeth,” barbed wire, razor wire, and minefields. There was a video by “Madjar” where he showed the Russians trying to break out of this ditch at one point. Over the course of two days, he counted about 50 Russian corpses. So, in these narrow places where they try to penetrate, we concentrate our fire, our efforts, and our mining. We are literally destroying the enemy at every step of their advance .
And considering the enemy’s pace of advance, we can talk about capturing the Kramatorsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration by military means within, say, three years. Three years of such advancement, at such a terrible cost… And the enemy is unlikely to be able to sustain this rate of losses.
Again, the question here is how many resources we have and how we counter the enemy’s actions. Is it ultimately possible to counter Russian tactical aviation? Yes, it is. And Ukraine is theoretically building up its capabilities in this area. We have long-range air defense systems, and we have our own fighter aircraft. It’s a matter of supplying longer-range air-to-air missiles that can repel Russian bombers from our front lines. We’re working on this.
Can we destroy more enemy infantry? Yes, we can. After all, if we’re talking about how we layer our firepower, it could begin at a depth of, say, 100 kilometers. To achieve this, we need more weapons systems like HIMARS, for example, with ATACMS missiles, or more of our operational-tactical missiles that can strike at a range of 200 kilometers. These include the Neptune, Sapsan, and Verba missiles, as well as other developments we’re currently ramping up.
Of course, it’s better to have interceptors and air defense systems that neutralize the enemy’s advantage in surveillance systems. For example, when the enemy occupies the high ground in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, they still need to launch reconnaissance drones, and we can engage and shoot down these reconnaissance drones. Therefore, we can solve this problem simply by using a larger number of interceptors from our pilot teams.
And when the enemy descends from Pokrovsk and Mirnohrad into the lowlands, they will lose the advantage they currently have on the heights. That is, we’ll be back on the heights, and they’ll be in the lowlands, and that will become our advantage. So, it’s a complex story of the enemy’s advance, one that can only be accurately discussed over a period of years, which is hardly the occupier’s goal.
This built-up and solid line of defense is why the cockroaches want to take Donbas through “diplomacy” with the help of their ally, Taco. Once they achieve this goal, they will simply continue with the war and will have an easier go at it. But Ukraine is not stupid and will never surrender the only thing preventing the cockroach horde from spilling over the whole country. And they also know that, politically, things could change for the better come November. So, holding out is the name of the game.