Apparently, northeast of Pokrovsk (the most threatening sector at the moment), the Russian forces will continue persistent attacks toward the village of Rodynske (both from the Fedorivka side and from the Razino side), while simultaneously trying to push as close as possible toward Dobropillia. Additionally, the Russian forces are likely to continue attacks in the directions of Novoekonomichne – Myrnohrad, as well as Myrolyubivka – Myrnohrad.
So far, the Russian 51st Army Corps, operating in this sector, is managing to advance at a pace quite dangerous for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, making the advance of its forward units to Rodynske quite probable. Likewise, a breakthrough into Myrnohrad is also likely.
If in the near future the pace of advancement of the Russian 51st Army Corps assault units does not drastically change — i.e., does not slow down (and at the moment, there are no signs that it will) — the fate of Pokrovsk will be decided.
In that case, the Russian forces will no longer need to conduct massive attacks or assaults southwest of the city (since they are already right next to the city limits on that axis, positioned in convenient starting points for a city assault). In other words, the Russian 41st Army Corps will only need to wait until the 51st Army Corps, disregarding any losses, reaches the city from the east and northeast (and it is VERY close to doing so) to begin a “decisive and final” assault on Pokrovsk.
Moreover, it is quite possible that the 51st Army Corps won’t even need to “crawl” right up to the city itself, but simply block it from the north by reaching the aforementioned lines and taking all logistical communications going northwest from the city under dense fire control. In this case, the 41st Army Corps, reinforced by parts of the 2nd Army Corps, could “take the lead” on Pokrovsk, since its forward units are ALREADY extremely close to the city.
This situation could worsen significantly if the 51st Army Corps also breaks through to Dobropillia (and judging by the pace of its forward units’ advance in this direction, it has the chance to do so). In such a case, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will face operational-scale problems, including in the Kramatorsk direction.
