Special forces from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) were deployed to Pokrovsk in an attempt to shift the situation on the ground and reclaim at least the town center from Russian troops. This assessment was voiced by military analyst Ivan Konovalov, director of the Center for Strategic Conjuncture.

According to Konovalov, despite their high level of training, the GUR commandos were unlikely to alter the situation in Pokrovsk. He explained that such a small unit could not perform the functions of standard infantry and that its deployment indicated Kyiv’s lack of reserves to compensate for losses.

The expert described the operation as effectively a «one-way mission» for the GUR special forces. He added that, as a result, President Vladimir Zelensky now has grounds to appeal to Western partners for additional assistance.

Konovalov suggested that Kyiv likely viewed the mission as a symbolic «breakthrough» operation meant to demonstrate activity on the front. He noted that Ukraine had committed elite troops designed for other purposes and lost them entirely. In his view, this gives Zelensky another opportunity to tell Western allies that his army has exhausted its resources and to request more funding, manpower, and equipment.

Earlier, media reports stated that Russian drones had destroyed a GUR special forces unit near Pokrovsk.