According to Dr. Marina Miron of King’s College London, Moscow has shifted its approach. Instead of massive assaults such as those in Bakhmut which cost tens of thousands of lives the Russian army is now applying a “squeeze-out” strategy: controlling supply routes, deploying swarms of drones, and gradually creating conditions in which Ukraine’s defenses collapse without a direct assault on the city.

Pokrovsk, with a pre-war population of around 60,000, is a key transport hub where major highways and railways intersect. For Russia, it is both a symbolic and strategic target the “gateway to Donetsk.” If the city falls, it could place Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the main strongholds of Ukrainian defenses in Donbas, under immediate threat.

At the same time, Russia is intensifying its offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, advancing near Kupiansk. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), this city where several critical railway lines converge holds immense logistical importance. Its loss would severely disrupt Ukraine’s supply chains across a large section of the front.

The battle for Pokrovsk and the pressure on Kupiansk carry implications far beyond Ukraine. If Russia succeeds in breaking Ukrainian defenses with its new tactics, it will send a clear message to NATO and allied nations: Moscow has adapted and is now capable of achieving objectives with fewer losses. This development would force the West to rethink its defense strategies and highlight the urgent need to supply Ukraine with air defense systems, ammunition, and counter-drone technologies.

Amid this escalating threat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leveraged an interview with Sky News to call on Donald Trump to clarify his position on sanctions against Russia and security guarantees for Ukraine. His message underscores a stark reality:

The time for decisions in Western capitals is running out just as quickly as Ukraine’s resources on the battlefield.

Ukrainian paratroopers destroyed a Russian armored convoy that was advancing toward Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, using HIMARS missiles and FPV drones in a coordinated nighttime assault. The strike reportedly took place on 28 August and targeted a mechanized group that had been spotted 10 kilometers behind Russian lines.

HIMARS strike shatters Russian push from Prohres toward Pokrovsk

Militarnyi reports that drone operators from the Ivan Franko Group, part of the 79th Air Assault Brigade, detected the convoy moving from the settlement of Prohres toward Malynivka, a village east of Pokrovsk. The Russian column consisted of seven vehicles, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and was carrying up to 100 soldiers—some of whom were advancing on motorcycles.

Once the target was confirmed, Ukrainian forces launched a HIMARS missile, striking the column during its movement. The initial hit disrupted the formation, after which drone operators joined the attack, targeting abandoned or disabled vehicles. A second missile strike completed the operation, according to the 79th Brigade.

Ukrainian paratroopers reported that the entire armored group was destroyed, and at least 50 Russian soldiers were killed. They believe the unit may have been part of a force recently redeployed from Russia’s Kursk Oblast, possibly including elements of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade.

“The appearance of units near Pokrovsk from a different direction could explain the use of a large number of armored vehicles in an area where, for a long time, Russian forces had relied exclusively on small infantry groups to minimize losses from drones,” Militarnyi noted.

Faced with heavy losses and only limited territorial gains, Russian forces have previously shifted tactics—now infiltrating through the so-called “gray zone” under drone surveillance and concentrating troops for assault operations.