The Pokrovsk sector in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has for months been among the hottest areas of the front line, as Russian forces push to encircle and seize the strategic city. Russian forces are attempting to encircle and capture Pokrovsk.
On September 15, Russian troops carried out 54 assaults on Ukrainian positions around Pokrovsk, Ukraine’s military said. Moscow’s units have been probing through Ukrainian lines with small infantry groups.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces said they destroyed command posts of Russia’s “Center” grouping of forces and the 41st Combined Arms Army operating on the Pokrovsk axis in strikes on September 8, 2025, reported the Ukrainian General Staff.
According to the General Staff, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov visited Russian command sites on the Pokrovsk front in Donetsk region on August 28.
Russian media reported that the minister heard briefings on the frontline situation. The grouping’s commander, Colonel General Valery Solodchuk, briefed him on the course of combat, the use of drones and logistics.
Some time later, Ukrainian forces successfully hit the command locations of Russian units, in what the General Staff described as a “coordinated fire strike on the occupiers’ command posts”.
The General Staff said the strikes significantly disrupted command and control of Russian units operating on the Pokrovsk axis.
Shortly after Belousov’s visit, Ukrainian forces conducted successful strikes on the sites. The attacks on military targets will significantly disrupt command and control of Russian units, Ukraine’s command said.
Fighting remains intense across the sector. On September 15 alone, Russian forces mounted 54 assaults on Ukrainian positions, all of which were repelled, the General Staff said. Battles took place near the settlements of Volodymyrovka, Zapovedne, Shevchenko, Kotline, Krasny Liman, Rodinske, Mirnohrad and others.
In August, Russian forces adjusted their assault tactics on the Pokrovsk front, attempting to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in small infantry groups and then mass in the rear of Ukrainian units. While the approach yielded limited gains initially, Ukraine’s military says it has since adapted and countered it.
