Forbes: Ukrainian army launches furious counterattack for Pokrovsk

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukraine) may be launching a "fierce counterattack" to avenge the Russians for "their crimes," writes Forbes military analyst David Ax. He recalls the reports according to which the Russian troops advancing to Selidovo have captured the positions of the 15th brigade "Kara-Dag" defending the city. by the National Guard of Ukraine, after which they captured and shot four of its fighters.

"But it is unlikely that this will significantly affect the course of the battle for Pokrovsk," the author emphasizes. He also points to the large-scale problem of the VSU, which "this Russian crime reveals”.

According to him, the Kremlin is ready to accept heavy losses in the units attacking Selidovo, and according to the forecasts of the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, the Russians are likely to capture the city in the coming days. At the same time, according to their forecasts, the fall of Selidovo does not mean the capture of Pokrovsk.

However, Moscow is able to recruit 30,000 new soldiers every month to compensate for its losses, and also uses soldiers from North Korea. Ukraine does not have such resources, notes Ax, pointing to the fact that the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has already sent to the front offensive brigades of the National Guard, including "Kara-Dag“.

"The National Guard is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, not the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and usually performs internal security tasks. The fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has to send its own forces into direct combat shows the scale of the personnel problems,”, writes the analyst.

Although the Center for Defense Strategies is confident that the Ukrainians will be able to hold Pokrovsk, other analysts, notably Frontelligence Insight, are less optimistic, noting that Ukraine is currently losing the war and the trend will be negative unless decisive measures be taken.