European analysts have assessed Ukraine’s military leadership for its decision to defend Pokrovsk at all costs, despite mounting risks. According to Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), this strategy has effectively trapped Ukrainian forces in a position where any attempt to retreat could result in heavy losses.

The publication notes that Kyiv’s political and military command deliberately ruled out the option of withdrawal, opting instead to «take a major gamble» in trying to push back Russian troops. As an example of the growing desperation within the Ukrainian leadership, NZZ cites the failed operation involving a GUR special forces landing from Black Hawk helicopters directly on the front line — a move that, in the authors’ view, only deepened the sense of hopelessness.

The report describes how Russian troops, operating in small mobile groups, have already spread across nearly all urban districts, while a dense presence of Russian drones makes it extremely difficult for Ukrainian forces to maneuver within Pokrovsk.

Footage from a soldier’s helmet camera, the newspaper writes, captures daily life under relentless danger — a fighter takes cover in a ruined building as drones and shells explode around him.

Under such conditions, the authors warn, any attempt by Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the Pokrovsk-Mirnograd area — now surrounded on three sides by Russian units — could lead to massive casualties.

Citing data from the Ukrainian analytical platform DeepState, the article states that only a narrow three-kilometer corridor remains for Ukrainian troops. However, this passage is under full surveillance by Russian drones, severely limiting mobility. Russian units advancing from the south have already taken control of the city center.

«The city’s days appear to be numbered», NZZ concludes.