On August 12, Russian forces continued to penetrate Ukrainian defensive positions east and northeast of Dobropil (northwest of Pokrovsk) with sabotage and reconnaissance groups. They have not yet managed to deploy reinforcements and are likely to encounter obstacles in their attempts to do so. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that they have already destroyed some of these groups.
This is written by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Ukrainian group "Dnepr" recently reported that Russian forces are constantly changing tactics and methods of deploying troops in the Pokrovsk direction and are taking advantage of their numerical superiority in manpower to penetrate Ukrainian defenses with small infantry groups, despite suffering heavy casualties in these attacks.
Russian bloggers, who often exaggerate the progress, have questioned the army's ability to exploit its tactical advantage and consolidate its positions.
A Russian source claims that penetration missions are associated with serious risks, as infantry, far from the front, can only receive supplies via drones, and the main forces cannot support isolated penetration groups.
The Russian advance in the Pokrovsk direction is the most recent result of more than 17 months of campaigning. It must be seen in the context of the significant expenditure of resources by Russian forces to wear down Ukrainian forces in the Pokrovsk direction over the past year and a half.
Russian officials are trying to use the successes on the front to influence the upcoming US-Russia summit in Alaska, but the overall strategic goal is to break the will of Ukraine, the United States, and Europe in order to achieve Russia's long-standing demand for Ukraine's complete surrender.
Russia is unwilling to compromise and remains committed to achieving its original military objectives. The continued references by Russian officials to the "root cause" of the war (which Kremlin officials have described as Ukraine's alleged discrimination against Russian speakers and NATO expansion) are a reiteration of Russia's initial military demands from 2021 and 2022 for changes to NATO's open door policy and the removal of the current Ukrainian government.
Russia has often used information campaigns that portray large-scale Russian offensives and battlefield victories as inevitable, even when no negotiations are on the horizon.
Russian efforts to influence the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska are unlikely to be successful, as U.S. President Donald Trump has previously said that the United States will not seek a U.S.-Russia agreement to end Russia's war against Ukraine during the summit.
Trump recently noted that Putin aims to conquer all of Ukraine - consistent with the long-standing ISW assessment.
Ukrainian intelligence has indicated that North Korea recently deployed 11,000 troops to facilitate Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine. This further demonstrates Russia’s commitment to relying on its anti-Western partners to prolong the war in Ukraine. The deputy head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Military Intelligence, Major General Vadim Skibitsky, reported on August 12 that there are approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers at Russian training grounds, located mainly in western Russia, including the Kursk region.