Finally! Azov units received a massive reinforcement and counterattack

Today, the biggest news comes from the Pokrovsk direction.

Here, in one of the most difficult sectors of the front, Ukrainians have started turning the tide and finally launched a massive counterattack. Now, the Skala regiment was sent as a reinforcement and placed under Azov’s command to help them relieve pressure on Dobropillia.

Previously, the situation was much more difficult here than in other sectors, because Russia had made this axis its highest priority in entire Ukraine, proven by the number of Russian troops deployed here. According to the commander of the National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, Russian forces outnumbered the Ukrainians as much as six to one in some sectors. Despite this disadvantage, the National Guard’s first Azov Corps continues to hold its assigned positions, repel surprise assaults, and inflict significant personnel and equipment losses on Russian forces. Russia advances here with small infiltration groups supported by a heavy use of drones, and tries to exploit gaps in the Ukrainian defense. Additionally, Russia has been conducting glide bomb and artillery strikes for more than six months that have gradually worn down Ukrainian defenses in towns such as Bilytske. Bilytske is particularly important because it is a key part of the defenses protecting Dobropillia, and without capturing it, the Russian forces would find it difficult to advance toward the town from the east.

Russia wants to break through around Dobropillia because bypassing the town would allow its forces to advance farther north and threaten the most fortified cities in Donbas with encirclement. Notably, if they can bypass Dobropillia, Russia could move around the main Ukrainian defenses and get behind Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. This would let them besiege the cities without assaulting them head on from the east and south, which would be slow and costly based on their current pace of advance.

In order to create the threat of encirclement in Donbas, Russia tried to send individual Russian reconnaissance and assault groups to reach the southeastern outskirts of Dobropillia, but they have so far failed to establish a lasting foothold. Heavy fighting also continues south and southwest of Dobropillia, where Russian forces are trying to advance from Hryshyne, using small assault groups to move through a chain of villages. Ukrainian forces have turned these settlements into defensive strongpoints, although many have been heavily damaged by months of shelling. At the same time, Russian forces are applying pressure from the east as well, trying to capture Bilytske and push towards Dobropillia from multiple directions. This is when the Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Drapatyi, placed the Skala regiment under Azov’s operational command, giving them a massive reinforcement. Skala is not becoming part of Azov’s organizational structure, but the change gives Azov operational control over the regiment’s missions in this sector, while Skala’s dispersed battalions and combined detachments are being consolidated to operate more effectively along a single front. This would enable better coordination between adjacent units and their commanders, allowing them to prevent the Russians from finding and exploiting a gap in Ukraine’s defense.

After this change in command, Russian sources started reporting that they are facing a wave of Ukrainian counterattacks along the frontline in the Dobropillia sector. Ukrainian assault groups are attempting to clear out Russian infiltrators in the northeastern and eastern parts of the city, and unblock key logistical routes that are currently under Russian fire control. If Russian infiltrators cannot consolidate and their logistics are disrupted, Ukraine can clear them out and push them away from Dobropillia and deny them an opportunity to build up forces inside the city. If Russian advances stall here and they cannot encircle Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Russia will be forced to continue its costly assaults east and south of the cities and sustain heavy casualties attacking them head on.

Overall, the battle for Dobropillia could ultimately become less about capturing one city and more about determining whether Russia can break into Ukraine’s remaining defenses in Donbas. The reinforcement by Skala will help to stabilize the situation and push the Russians away from Dobropillia. If Ukrainian forces can disrupt Russian supply lines and stop infiltrating units, Moscow may lose the opportunity to turn a local advance into a strategic encirclement of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. This would force Russia back into slower, far more expensive frontal attacks against heavily fortified positions.