Repeated Assault in Pokrovsk Ends in Failure as Russian Motorcycle Convoy Stalls on Wreckage

A Russian motorcycle convoy attempted an assault in the Pokrovsk area. Still, it was unable to advance after becoming stuck amid the wreckage from a previous attack, leaving it exposed to Ukrainian fire.

The press service of the 425th Skelya Assault Regiment published footage of the engagement.

According to the unit, Russian forces on December 12 repeated an assault along the same route where they had been repelled on December 10.

Two motorcycles moved forward first and were intercepted and destroyed by Ukrainian drones inside the city. Drone operators then detected the leading group, consisting of two quad bikes and three motorcycles.

The convoy reached the site on the outskirts of Pokrovsk, where a similar unit had been destroyed on December 10. That earlier assault involved units of Russia’s 76th Guards Air Assault Division, which had recently been redeployed to the area.

Open-source analyst @moklasen on X shared that the convoy was hit while exiting the city’s industrial zone toward the settlement of Hryshyne.

The division is believed to have been earmarked for operations in the Zaporizhzhia region but was instead redirected to the Pokrovsk axis as part of Moscow’s stated objective of capturing the city.

The video released by the regiment captures that debris from destroyed vehicles and fallen soldiers from the earlier attack, along with barbed wire stretched along both sides of the road, forced the motorized infantry to halt and dismount, making them vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes.

As a result of coordinated action by drones and artillery from the 425th Skelya Assault Regiment and supporting units, the attacking Russian troops were destroyed. Cluster munitions were used against the infantry.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation in the sector remains difficult, with Russian forces seeking to increase pressure on Ukrainian defensive positions and committing additional reserves. He said Ukrainian forces repelled 42 Russian assault attempts in the Pokrovske direction on December 12 alone.

“Specific steps have been identified to strengthen defenses, including maintaining stable logistics routes, increasing the effectiveness of firepower, improving coordination between units, and ensuring troops have what they need. We remain committed to active defense tactics, including improving positions, conducting localized operations to push the enemy back from certain areas, and creating conditions for subsequent maneuvers,” he noted.

Russian forces in the Pokrovsk direction now number more than 155,000 personnel, about 20% of Moscow’s total force deployed in Ukraine, estimated at roughly 710,000 troops.