Ukraine reports gains near Pokrovsk and Dobropillya as Azov says six villages retaken
Ukraine’s civilian and military authorities reported gains in efforts to halt Russian advances north of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that he had heard a report from Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on “the intentions and movements of the Russian army.” “For the second day in a row, we’re seeing gains on some of the toughest sectors in Donetsk region - in the directions of Dobropillya and Pokrovsk,” Zelensky said.
He said several Russian soldiers were captured as they “tried to infiltrate deeper into our positions” in the area. Zelensky thanked several Ukrainian corps and brigades, including the 1st Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard, Azov.
On August 16, Azov said on its Facebook page that over three days near Pokrovsk it had “cleared” six settlements in the area where Russian forces had advanced. They included the villages of Zolotyi Kolodiaz and Vesele, which Russian troops had previously entered.
In recent days, Ukraine’s General Staff has reported heavy fighting on the Pokrovsk axis and the repelling of dozens of Russian attempts to push forward. On the morning of August 17, the General Staff published a map of the situation around Pokrovsk that shows no salient near the villages of Zolotyi Kolodiaz and Vesele.
Analysts with the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState also reported “stabilization in the Dobropillya area.” Their maps suggest Ukrainian forces have cut a Russian salient in the front line in two. But DeepState cautioned that “it’s too early to speak of complete success,” saying Russia is “bringing additional forces into the area.”
On August 16, DeepState reported a Russian advance near the village of Popiv Yar, about 10 kilometers to the east. Ukraine’s operational-strategic grouping “Dnipro” also confirmed it.
On August 11, Ukraine’s DeepState reported a significant Russian push near Dobropillya in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk region, reaching the villages of Kucheriv Yar and Zolotyi Kolodiaz. At the time, the Ukrainian military denied a breach of the eastern front, later saying the situation had stabilized. Both Russian and Ukrainian military sources, however, acknowledged Russian gains of more than 10 kilometers.
Austrian military historian Col. Markus Reisner, a lecturer at the military academy in Wiener Neustadt, told DW there had been a breach in Ukrainian defensive positions that is widening. “But we still can’t speak of a so-called operational breakthrough,” he said. “That would be the case if, like a dam giving way, Ukrainian defensive positions were gradually dismantled and Russian forces continued advancing deeper into the territory. That has’t happened yet.”