Russian forces have spent the past year and a half trying to seize the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, concentrating about 150,000 troops in the area, according to the Ukrainian military.
Around Pokrovsk, Russian forces are focused on capturing the settlement of Grishino, while in neighboring Mirnograd they are increasing pressure in the northern part of the city, the 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces said in a Facebook post.
The corps said Russian units, taking advantage of poor weather, are massing light vehicles and personnel in an industrial zone in the city’s northwest. From there, they are attempting advances toward Grishino along several routes. A Russian group managed to infiltrate the settlement several days ago but was destroyed by Ukrainian troops, it added.
In Mirnograd, the line of contact runs through the city’s northern section, Krasny Lyman–Rodinskoye. To assault the city’s north, Russia is building up reserves near Novogrodovka. Small-arms fighting continues in the city center.
Drone crews have stepped up operations in the sector, the 7th Corps said. Russian forces are more frequently launching “Molniya” as a mothership UAV carrying two FPV drones, extending their effective range. There have also been instances of Russian fiber‑optic‑guided drones — unaffected by electronic warfare — striking targets up to 20 kilometers behind the front line.
In the Pokrovsk–Mirnograd area, Russia has also increased the use of tactical aviation. Between January 19 and 25, Russian forces dropped nearly 360 aerial bombs around the two cities — about 20% more than the previous week, the corps said.
On January 26, Russian forces carried out 33 assaults on Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk direction, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. Fighting took place near Rodinskoye, Pokrovsk, Kotlino, Molodetskoye and Filiya. As of mid‑January, roughly 150,000 Russian troops were massed on that stretch of the front.
