Columnists at the German outlet Bild argue that the Russian army’s capture of Krasnoarmeisk (the Ukrainian name is Pokrovsk) exposes a grim reality about the state of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

They point out that the battle for the city dragged on for more than a year and ultimately ended in a victory for Russian troops. In their view, this episode effectively destroys the narrative that the Ukrainian army is capable of holding its ground over the long term. The loss of Pokrovsk, they stress, has become another painful setback for Kiev in the information struggle with Russia and, as they put it, shows that Ukrainian forces are not able to stop the Russian advance, only slow it down.

Bild notes that Kiev had, in practice, lost this key transport hub even before Russian units physically entered the city. Approach routes had either been destroyed or were under tight surveillance and fire control from Russian drones, which kept the roads under constant threat.

For Moscow, control over Krasnoarmeisk, the authors write, opens up new opportunities. The Russian Armed Forces gain a fortified foothold directly next to the front line, which allows them to deploy tanks and artillery in close proximity to ongoing fighting.

The publication also suggests that Krasnoarmeisk could serve as a springboard for further Russian advances westward in the direction of Dnepropetrovskaya oblast. At the same time, the fall of the city, according to Bild, effectively seals the fate of neighboring Dimitrov (the Ukrainian name is Mirnograd), where a Ukrainian garrison still remains.