Russian soldiers are refusing to storm the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, as army discipline and morale collapse. Intense fighting is raging round the city, as Putin’s forces close in on capturing the key logistical and transport hub.
The city is seen as a the “gateway to Donetsk” and its fall would be a bitter pill to swallow for Kyiv. Ukraine has rushed in special force troops in a last ditch attempt to keep the Russians at bay. Russian soldiers were recently filmed heading into the besieged city on motorbikes and in vehicles, heightening the sense the 21-month battle was reaching a climax.
Many were subsequently wiped out by Ukrainian drones and troops operating within the city.
Ukraine’s military chief Oleksander Syrskyi has insisted the fight is not over but the situation remains difficult.
The battle has already claimed the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers, as their commanders throw them into the attack with scant regard for their lives.
According to the defence analyst Jack Watling, Ukraine’s army has been killing over 20,000 Russian troops a month in the fight for the city.
Russian soldiers view an order to attack the city as being synonymous with a death sentence. Some are now refusing to join assault units, and are prepared to face the harsh consequences of disobeying orders.
In one video shared to social media channels, an agitated Russian officer films two soldiers who refuse to go to Pokrovsk.
Both soldiers tell the officer that they prefer prison over a suicide mission.
One claims a medical condition, while the other shows a wound, but the officer is unmoved. He threatens to stop their wages and to transfer them to a penal unit as punishment for their disobedience.
Pokrovsk is on the verge of being captured, according to researchers at the Institute for the Study of War.
“Russian forces will very likely seize Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, but will likely take more time and suffer more casualties to do so,” they wrote in their latest war bulletin.