Russians lose thermobaric artillery systems en masse to intense counterbattery fire

Today, there are important updates from the Pokrovsk direction.

Here, the Russians have intensified the shelling on Pokrovsk to support their infiltration attempts into the town, but this came at a huge risk.

Ukrainian units began targeting exposed Russian equipment, stopping the artillery barrage on the town and creating a window of opportunity for the friendly forces on the ground.

The Russians are now bombarding Pokrovsk and the neighboring Myrnohrad with unprecedented fury to crush the Ukrainian defense. The Russian command has unleashed the full power of its artillery, including thermobaric systems.

Russian state channels released videos showing a TOS-2 launcher firing at Pokrovsk while a lone soldier stood guard with a machine gun, watching the skies for Ukrainian drones. Another video from a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone recorded the aftermath of another shelling, with the entire horizon filled with smoke pillars as Myrnohrad came under yet another Russian barrage. The Russian plan is to suppress Ukrainian defenses and blind the drone operators and spotters who rely on high-rise buildings for observation and fire correction. Previous Ukrainian strongpoints are being turned into ruins under the heaviest bombardment in months.

The Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged that the situation inside Pokrovsk remains critical, with around 200 Russian troops already infiltrated into the central districts, sparking intense street fighting after the continuous shelling allowed them to creep in more easily. Drone footage shows Russian soldiers advancing through the railway area, the same spot where four Ukrainian civilians were shot dead by infiltrators in broad daylight, another war crime caught on video. The same Ukrainian reconnaissance drone that filmed the murders later guided munitions onto the Russian group hiding inside the station building, wiping them out in an instant.

For months, the Ukrainian stronghold of Pokrovsk stood firm through endless bombardments, but now the defenders face Russian assault teams, often no more than two or three men at a time, who crawl forward through tree lines and ruins, using their own drones to provide overwatch. Each group that survives digs in and begins ambushing Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike. This is combined with heavy Russian drone activity and artillery fire, as Ukrainian units report that even reaching their positions has become a deadly ordeal, with every road into Pokrovsk being watched by Russian FPV and fiber optic drones.

Yet despite the chaos, Ukrainian defenders hold, and their answer has come in the form of a fierce counterbattery campaign. As Russia pushed its artillery forward to pound the towns, Ukrainian drone reconnaissance seized the moment. When thermobaric launchers fire, they must do so within a short range of 3 to 6 kilometers for the Tos-1 and around 15 kilometers for the Tos-2, exposing themselves to detection.

Ukrainian operators spotted one such system near the southern edge of Pokrovsk. Within minutes, a pair of FPV drones struck it, detonating its fuel and rockets in a massive explosion that killed the crew. Another strike, captured on video, showed a Ukrainian FPV drone diving into a BM-27 Uragan multiple rocket launcher, destroying it on the road. Later, a BM-21 Grad launcher was caught firing and obliterated seconds later. Each destroyed system reduces Russia’s firepower, giving Ukrainian forces a narrow but vital window to regroup.

Ukrainian artillery units joined the hunt, destroying an ancient ML-20 howitzer, a relic from before the Second World War, that Russian troops had dragged out of storage to compensate for mounting gun losses. Precision air strikes have followed, including three GBU-39 glide bombs dropped precisely on 3 Russian batteries firing from tree lines south of Pokrovsk.

With Russian guns falling silent, Ukrainian infantry and drone units began clearing operations, eliminating infiltrators in basements and ruins, restoring contact lines, and reclaiming sectors lost in the chaos.

Overall, despite Russian claims, the intensive bombardments, and the attrition, Pokrovsk still stands. A year ago, few believed Ukraine could hold this town through the winter of 2024 or at most the summer of 2025. Yet, once again, the defenders have adapted, combining precision strikes with relentless counterbattery fire to blunt Russia’s offensive. For Ukraine, saving Pokrovsk is not just about one town, as for the country to survive and win in this war, the staging of brutal but favorable attritional battles around fortresses like it remains crucial. Its defense over the past year has eaten up immense Russian resources in equipment, ammunition, and especially manpower, and has bought Ukraine precious time.