Russian positions near Pokrovsk have suffered a significant defeat following a devastating explosion at a major ammunition depot. With Russian artillery firepower crippled and defensive positions exposed, Ukrainian forces swiftly launched a decisive assault, fully reclaiming Uspenivka and forcing Russian troops to flee in disorder.
The recapture of Uspenivka marks a key victory for Ukraine as its forces push further east, working to trap Russian units in a six kilometre wide pocket between Uspenivka and Pischane. To achieve this, Ukrainian troops systematically dismantled Russian artillery and armoured vehicle support, depriving the enemy of its main advantage. With Russian reinforcements struggling to cross a narrow river near Novovasylivka due to melted ice limiting them to a single bridge, Ukrainian forces capitalised on the bottleneck. Surveillance and precision fire allowed them to track Russian troop movements, identify reinforcements, and pinpoint enemy strongholds.
Ukrainian drone strikes proved instrumental in cutting off Russian supply routes. The Kremlin’s forces were forced to deploy only small infantry groups under cover of darkness, with squads of two soldiers moving from Novovasylivka to Uspenivka. Lacking armoured support, Russian troops instead attempted to suppress Ukrainian advances with intensified artillery fire. However, the high volume of shelling made Russian guns easier to detect, allowing Ukrainian forces to destroy them with precision drone and counter-battery strikes.
Among the most significant Ukrainian successes was the destruction of a rare 240 millimetre Tulip self-propelled mortar, one of just forty in Russian service. This weapon is designed to destroy heavily fortified positions, suggesting Russian forces struggled to dislodge well-entrenched Ukrainian defenders. Despite Russian attempts to conceal artillery inside damaged buildings, Ukrainian drone operators were able to locate and neutralise these threats.
A major turning point came with a successful Ukrainian strike on a vast Russian ammunition depot near Selydove. The depot contained thermobaric artillery shells used in TOS-1 systems, some of the most destructive munitions in Russia’s arsenal. The resulting explosion wiped out a substantial stockpile, neutralising a serious threat to Ukrainian defenders. Given that TOS-1 systems have a short range of only three and a half to six kilometres, this depot was likely Russia’s main storage site for thermobaric weapons in the Pokrovsk direction.
Without artillery support, Russian forces struggled to resist Ukrainian counterattacks. Ukrainian tanks advanced, systematically eliminating Russian strongpoints. A desperate Russian attempt to reinforce positions by sending a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle across the river failed spectacularly—the vehicle was destroyed immediately, and its dismounted infantry were eliminated before they could reach cover. As Ukrainian troops secured the last Russian positions in Uspenivka, Russian forces fell back to Novovasylivka, but with significantly reduced manpower.
The destruction of Russian thermobaric artillery, heavy mortars, and conventional barrel artillery severely weakened their firepower and paved the way for a Ukrainian advance. With Ukrainian forces now in a stronger position, they are poised to encircle Russian troops on the western flank of Pokrovsk through a pincer movement, coordinating with offensives at Pischane and Shevchenko.
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