The pace of the Russian advance on Pokrovsk has temporarily slowed, but is expected to resume with the arrival of additional reinforcements. Geolocated footage from November 6 shows limited progress by Russian forces in the northern part of Mirnograd, east of Pokrovsk, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports, News.bg reports.
Russian bloggers claim that Russian control is expanding into Western Rivne and most of Krasny Liman, with assault groups advancing in the eastern and southeastern areas of Mirnograd. Some groups are approaching the T-0515 Pokrovsk-Dobropolye highway and are fighting in the northern part of Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian drone strikes are making it difficult to consolidate their positions.
Ukrainian observer Kostyantyn Mashovets said on November 7 that much of Pokrovsk remains a "gray zone", with Russian forces controlling the northern part and the main groups located in the south. Serhiy Okishev, a spokesman for the Ukrainian 7th Corps, indicated that Russian forces are not seeking to establish a bridgehead in the city itself, but are penetrating to the northern outskirts, disguised as civilians. Ukrainian troops have partially restored logistics north of Pokrovsk and are delivering ammunition.
On the night of November 7-8, Russia launched over 500 drones and missiles at Ukrainian targets, including critical energy infrastructure, with the aim of disrupting supplies before the winter of 2025-2026. These included Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, Iskander-K cruise missiles, Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles and Kalibr missiles, as well as about 458 Shahed and Gerber drones. Ukrainian air defenses managed to shoot down 406 drones and nine missiles, but some of them hit 25 targets, and debris fell in four places.
The strikes hit the Kremenchuk hydroelectric power plant, power plants in Horishny Plavny, Odessa and Kharkiv regions, as well as the thermal power plants in Zmiev and Trupilska, disrupting electricity production and causing fires. SOTA notes that these two plants provide about 14% of the country's electricity. ISW assesses Russia’s actions as an attempt to undermine energy security, industrial capacity, and the morale of the Ukrainian population.
Russian strikes also hit civilian infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions, causing civilian casualties and injuries.
On November 7, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Colonel Yuriy Cherevashenko as commander of the Unmanned Air Defense Systems Service, tasked with expanding the use of drones and strengthening air defense with modern weapons systems. The relationship between these units and the ground forces, which also have tactical air defense systems, remains unclear.