Ukrainian commanders, having concentrated major forces on attempts to break through to their encircled units in Pokrovsk and Kupyansk, failed to anticipate a strike from another direction. War correspondent Aleksandr Kots notes that Russian troops have been steadily advancing for several weeks along the junction between the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk regions.

Kots said that judging by the pace of Russia’s advance, Ukraine has no means to contain the threat. He explained that units of the Russian «East» battlegroup are pushing forward from Danilovka in northern Dnepropetrovsk Region down to Yablokovo in the south of the Zaporozhye Region.

This progress, he argues, opens two key axes for further Russian operations — toward Pokrovskoye and toward Gulyaypole. Pokrovskoye, an urban-type settlement and administrative center of the Pokrovsky District in Dnepropetrovsk Region, sits at an important road intersection crucial to Ukrainian logistics in the south of the region.

Kots pointed out that the nearest settlement under Russian control is Danilovka, located about ten kilometers to the south. Securing Danilovka allowed Russian forces to cut the T0401 highway linking Pokrovskoye with Gulyaypole, a development that significantly affected the fighting in the Gulyaypole sector.

As a result of sustained offensive actions, fighters of the «East» battlegroup have taken several settlements in a short period of time, including Novonikolaevka, Novovasilevskoye, Uspenovka, Sladkoye, Novoye, Novouspenovskoye, Yablokovo and Rovnopolye.

The road to Gulyaypole is now open for the advancing Russian units, with less than eight kilometers remaining to Ukrainian positions in this area. According to Kots, continued Russian progress here threatens to trigger a complete collapse of the Ukrainian front in the Zaporozhye Region.

He remarked that, ahead of the winter campaign, Russian forces have effectively stretched Ukrainian troops to their limit. According to his assessment, Russia drew Ukraine’s resources into Donbass and the Kharkov Region, then struck unexpectedly from a different direction — forcing the Ukrainian command to urgently redistribute forces and restructure the front.