“Ukrainian Counterstrikes”: Expert Comments on the Situation in Pokrovsk

Military expert Oleh Starikov explained what is happening at the front, particularly in the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad agglomeration, spoke about counterstrikes, and assessed the risks for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Politeka reports.
He discussed this on his channel.

According to the expert, in the Pokrovsk sector the enemy is attempting to fragment Ukrainian defensive nodes into isolated pockets of resistance, absorbing the territory of Pokrovsk and pushing UAF units toward Myrnohrad, where a classic encirclement operation against the Ukrainian garrison is underway. However, he argues that it is not correct to say that the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad fortified area has been fully taken into operational encirclement, since a corridor 2 to 3 km wide remains open to the north.

“Understanding the seriousness of the situation, for two weeks our command has been taking measures to unblock the garrison, carrying out counterstrikes on the eastern flank in the area of the Dobropillia salient. As a result, the tip of this salient has been cut off, and there has been movement toward Shakhove. But the main goal of all these efforts—taking control of Rodynske—has not yet been achieved,” Starikov explains.

The expert notes that it is important to clearly understand the difference between counterstrikes and counteroffensives, because many commentators confuse the two. According to him, a counterstrike is a tactical response to an attack aimed at immediately pushing back an enemy that has broken through at a specific section of the front, while a counteroffensive is a strategic operation to seize the initiative and liberate territory, often launched after the enemy has exhausted itself during its own offensive.

“In other words, all UAF actions along these axes within the framework of strategic defense are counterstrikes, while in the summer of 2023 the UAF on the southern flank were preparing an actual counteroffensive,” Starikov emphasizes.

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