The Russian military announced on Saturday that it had thwarted a Ukrainian operation aimed at breaking the encirclement of Pokrovsk, where thousands of Ukrainian soldiers remain trapped under increasingly dire conditions.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, units from the Tsentr Battlegroup intercepted and destroyed an 11-member Ukrainian special operations team from the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) during an attempted airdrop northwest of the city. “The units of the Tsentr Battlegroup destroyed an 11-member sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the northwestern outskirts of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk),” the ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainian operation reportedly involved two American-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, which inserted the team into an open field near the E-50 highway on the outskirts of Pokrovsk. Video released by Ukrainian sources on Friday showed the helicopters landing and soldiers disembarking, though subsequent footage published by Russian military channels—apparently from drone surveillance—appeared to show the unit coming under immediate attack.
The mission’s objective, according to Ukrainian media, was to establish a corridor for resupplying Ukrainian forces surrounded inside the city. While Ukrainian outlets denied the operation’s failure, their reports effectively acknowledged that the defenders of Pokrovsk are cut off—a point Kyiv’s leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, has publicly denied.
By Saturday, several Western media outlets, including The Spectator, began acknowledging the deteriorating situation in Pokrovsk. Reports suggested that Ukrainian commanders had deliberately downplayed the encirclement until soldiers trapped inside began leaking details and videos to the press.
The loss of the helicopter team represents another setback for Ukrainian efforts to stabilize the front in Donetsk, as Russian forces continue tightening their grip on the key Donbas city and its surrounding supply routes while other vital cities across Donbas, including Konstantinova and Lyman are also falling under siege.