GAME OVER! Russians CAPITULATE IN POKROVSK!

Today, there are a lot of interesting updates from the Pokrovsk direction.

Here, cut off, abandoned, and with no way out, Russian troops in and around Udachne found themselves trapped as Ukrainian forces tightened their grip around them. One by one, soldiers emerged from hiding, not to fight, but to surrender en masse, marking yet another Russian indication that the tide is turning on the battlefield.

The goal of the Ukrainian forces in this area is to secure and consolidate control over the rest of the tree belt running along the railway line between Udachne and Pokrovsk. This is because these positions run perpendicular to the Russian route of advance as they try to encircle Pokrovsk from the west, which would force Russians back into full-frontal assaults, massively improving the overall defensive situation for the Ukrainians.

To accomplish this, Ukrainians are launching small but targeted maneuvers and operations, trying to achieve the biggest results with the least effort. This way, they significantly reduce manpower and equipment losses, allowing them to preserve these for future defensive or offensive operations.

After previously recapturing the trench network in the tree belt south of Udachne, Ukrainians had expertly positioned themselves to deny further Russian movement while eliminating a critical launching point for the Russian attacks. The control of the stronghold along the tree line allows the Ukrainians to enforce fire control over the Russian attack and reinforcement routes towards Udachne, outflanking and forcing any surviving Russian soldiers to retreat from their positions or become encircled.

Furthermore, Russian soldiers and analysts are reporting that Russian forces around Pokrovsk are suffering from systemic issues, as the Russian commanders prioritize reporting success over actual gains on the battlefield. This led to a reality where lower-ranking Russian officers were afraid of reporting any bad news, fearing their commanders would send them and their men on suicide missions in retaliation. It is important to note that this dynamic goes all the way up the ladder, as the top Russian military command placed high pressure on Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev to report Russian successes near Pokrovsk, which only increasingly contributed to false reports and misinformation. 

On top of that, Ukrainians have increasingly implemented high-power electronic warfare systems, jamming the targeting equipment of glibe bombs, drones, and radios, causing major communication issues for Russian soldiers. 

As a result, only a handful of more valuable Russian soldiers recieved the order to retreat in time. Adittionally, misleading battle reports caused a complete lack of awareness among the remaining Russian soldiers, most of whom were not even aware of the Ukrainian outflanking maneuver before it was too late. To make the situation even worse for the Russians, Russian commanders had sent many wounded soldiers to Udachne in their desperation to achieve success, many of whom were by this point physically incapable of retreating. Overall, this resulted in many Russian soldiers finding themselves encircled and cut off by Ukrainian forces.

Geolocated footage reveals how after Ukrainians completed their encirclement, drone operators flew over known Russian positions, using megaphones outfitted on their drones, urging them to surrender. Subsequently, one video shows five Russian soldiers leaving their positions and following the drone to Ukrainian soldiers who were ready take them prisoner. 

The footage shows how the Ukrainians had to help the men walk up an embankment in a weakened state after long neglect by their own armed forces. Further footage shows how as the Ukrainian fighters then started moving through the tree belt, they encountered more and more Russian soldiers who found themselves crawling towards them just to surrender and save their lives.

In the end, Russian high-level commanders abandoned many of their men, leading to a large number of Russian soldiers surrendering to the advancing Ukrainians. 

This issue was further worsened by false battle reports and jamming of radio communications by electronic warfare systems. Wounded soldiers had the highest incentive to surrender, as their arrival to the front would be a one-way trip either way. 

After consolidating their control over the tree belt, the Ukrainians can now aim to push the Russian lines even further, threatening to eradicate the Russian bridgehead on the western flank of Pokrovsk and taking back complete control of the situation.

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