Russian forces are struggling to focus on a single decisive objective in the Pokrovsk direction and are instead continuing their simultaneous attempts to close the encirclement of the wider Pokrovsk-Mirnograd pocket while simultaneously attacking both cities.
This was revealed by the Institute for the Study of War.
Russian forces are trying to implement their new offensive model in the direction of Siversk and Slavyansk-Liman to create conditions for an offensive against Ukraine's fortified belt from the northeast and east.
The invaders are facilitated by fog and rain in the area of the fighting, which prevent Ukrainian forces from using drones to scout and strike at the advancing enemy.
Bad weather is preventing the Ukrainian command from repelling the Russian pressure in Pokrovsk. At the moment, the enemy has the upper hand and controls key points of the logistical lines supplying the defenders of Pokrovsk.
Ukrainian forces have recently advanced into the western part of Zaporizhia Oblast. Russian forces have made breakthroughs in Pokrovsk and the Dobropilya tactical zone.
Russian military commanders continue to order Russian soldiers to commit war crimes on the battlefield.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on November 18 that elements of the Russian 1st Motorized Battalion of the 506th Motorized Rifle Regiment used two adults and a child as human shields during an attack in the northeastern part of Pokrovsk on November 10.
The SBU noted that the Russian military command gave the battalion the order over the radio. Article 28 of the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War prohibits the use of civilians as "human shields".
The reported incident is consistent with ISW's long-standing assessment that the Russian military command supports and sometimes orders war crimes on the battlefield.
ISW has also observed an increase in Russian war crimes in the direction of Pokrovsk in recent weeks as Russian forces have approached and penetrated the city.
Ukrainian forces have carried out an ATACMS missile strike against military targets in Russia.
Ukraine continues to cooperate with its European partners on the joint production of drones.
Russian forces carried out a series of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of November 15-16, which appeared to be directed at the regional headquarters of major Ukrainian television broadcasters.