Day: November 25, 2025

Ukrainian forces maintain a limited presence and continue to counterattack within Pokrovsk, indicating that Russian forces likely remain unable to rapidly seize Pokrovsk at this time. Geolocated footage published on November 24 indicates that Ukrainian forces maintain positions along the E-50 Pokrovsk-Pavlohrad highway in northwestern Pokrovsk, where Russian sources previously claimed that Russian forces maintained a presence. Geolocated footage published on November 24 shows Ukrainian forces patrolling in northern Pokrovsk in areas where Russian forces previously infiltrated, and a Ukrainian assault regiment operating in Pokrovsk reported that Ukrainian forces cleared central Pokrovsk of Russian forces. Other Ukrainian military and media sources provided contradictory accounts of reported Ukrainian clearing operations within Pokrovsk, however. Ukrainian Volunteer Army Spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk and a Ukrainian journalist reported on November 23 and 24 that Ukrainian forces cleared several streets and areas near the Donetska railway and E-50 highway and that Ukrainian forces continue to control some neighborhoods within Pokrovsk. A Ukrainian military source stated on November 23 that Ukrainian forces cleared “specific areas” within Pokrovsk and assessed that these advances may improve the tactical situation for Ukrainian forces within Pokrovsk but would not impact the operational situation in the area. Other Ukrainian military sources refuted on November 24 reports that Ukrainian forces cleared central Pokrovsk. All of the Ukrainian reporting continues to indicate that Ukrainian forces maintain positions and some degree of ability to operate within Pokrovsk despite weeks of intensified Russian efforts to seize the town.

Ukrainian efforts to interdict Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) with drones and the disjointed nature of Russian infiltration tactics likely continue to hinder Russian efforts to mass troops necessary to complete the seizure of Pokrovsk within the town. A Ukrainian military source noted on November 24 that effective Ukrainian drone interdiction of Russian GLOCs has cut logistics to 90 percent of Russian assault groups within Pokrovsk, slowing the pace of the Russian advance within the town. The Ukrainian military source added that Russian forces within Pokrovsk, who number over 500, are relatively uncoordinated and sometimes commit friendly fire incidents. The Ukrainian military source reported that Russian forces still have extensive fire control within Pokrovsk and are employing drones to significantly interdict Ukrainian GLOCs, however. The Ukrainian journalist noted that Russian forces continue to take advantage of poor weather conditions to accumulate forces and reenter areas that Ukrainian forces previously cleared, leading to back-and-forth fighting within the town. ISW continues to assess that seasonal foggy and rainy weather conditions are hindering Ukrainian drone operations in eastern Ukraine, allowing Russian forces to conduct ground operations into and within Pokrovsk with fewer threats from Ukrainian drone reconnaissance and strikes. x.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1993190439134912908

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Nov 25, 2025