The Ukrainian army has lost control over the Pokrovsk / Myrnograd agglomeration. Russian forces had over months slowly enveloped the cities from the east and the west. The corridor leading out of it was put under Russian drone control. Any vehicle trying to pass through was attacked.
The Ukrainian leadership had thrown any reserves it had to reopen the corridor to the city. All such attempts were destined to fail. A last Hail Mary move was the helicopter insertion of a dozen special forces commanded by the Military Intelligence Service GRU.
Ukraine lands special forces in embattled Pokrovsk, sources say – Reuters, Oct 3 2025
Ukraine landed special forces to fight in embattled parts of the eastern city of Pokrovsk earlier this week, just as Russia said it had surrounded Kyiv’s forces in the area, two Ukrainian military sources said on Friday.
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The Ukrainian special forces landed in a Black Hawk helicopter a few days ago in the operation, which was complicated by Russian drone activity, a source in the 7th Rapid Response Corps said.The operation was overseen by military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov, and the troops headed to areas of the city claimed by Russia and seen by Moscow as vital for Ukrainian supply lines, the other source said.
At least 10 servicemen could be seen dismounting from a helicopter in a field in a video seen by Reuters. The news agency could not independently confirm the location or date when the video was filmed.
A video of the helicopter insertion is here
Other videos, according to AMK mapping, show that none of the inserted soldiers survived:
Based on the geolocations I did of the Russian FPV drone strikes on Ukrainian special forces, and additional analysis of the footage, we can now deduce where the soldiers ran after being dropped off by the helicopter behind Russian lines.
A group of 11 soldiers were dropped off at the specified point (48.29667, 37.13317) and split off into two groups.
Five soldiers ran towards the forest next to the O0525 Highway and then towards the gas station on the edge of the industrial zone. Three were hit by a drone strike after being caught in the forest along the way, and the two survivors attempted to make a run for the gas station but were hit by another drone when crossing the fields.
Six soldiers ran south from the landing spot and split up as they approached the industrial zone. Four ran southwest into the forest towards the substation, but three were hit by a drone. The fourth soldier escaped back to the edge of the forest before also being hit by a drone while hiding under a tree. As for the other two soldiers from this group, they were able to enter the first building of the industrial zone and hid in a room on the ground floor. Three drones then flew in through the windows, with two striking them.
So, knowing all this info, it seems that all 11 soldiers were killed or wounded in these attacks. Evacuations of any survivors are unlikely due to their presence behind Russian lines, and they will likely be captured by Russian troops.
The fact that the insertion was leaked to Reuters points to an attempt to accuse General Budanov of a reckless waste of men.
As Strana reports (machine translation):
Ukrainian “Suspilnoye” also writes, citing sources, that the assault groups of the Main Intelligence Directorate entered areas of the city that “are of strategic importance for Ukrainian logistics” and where the Russians had previously entered.
The operation involves “several helicopters”, and Budanov is near Pokrovsk to direct the actions of the GUR, the newspaper writes.
Ukraine has not officially confirmed this.
Why, if not to denigrate Budanov, would anyone leak this to the press?
Another soldier, Stanislav Bunyatov, is outraged by the release of a video of the landing of special forces.
“The problem is that one degenerate sent a video to another degenerate, and the third degenerate leaked the fact of landing, the landing site to the Internet and created a demand for the destruction of special forces and hunting for these helicopters. Do you think that after this, it will be possible to evacuate the fighters from the battlefield with a”bird”? I hope that the published video will not be ignored, and the perpetrators will be brought to serious responsibility,” he wrote.
Russian military publics showed their video of the alleged flight of two GUR helicopters to Pokrovsk. They also specify that the landing party landed in an industrial zone in the north-western part of the city, through which the Pokrovsk garrison is supplied.
At the same time, the “DPR” reports that part of the landed special forces was destroyed (Russian media quoted Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to Pushilin).
Budanov is known for planing and executing terror attacks in Russia.
He is also known for reckless operations which have killed many of his men. Last year the special forces of the GRU made three boat assault attempts to capture the Russian controlled Zaparozhia Nuclear Power Plant. Some 50 Ukrainian soldiers got killed when all three attempts failed.
The Ukrainian (former) President Vladimir Zelenski and his political operator Andrei Yermak see Budanov as a potential competitor in future elections. It would not be astonishing to learn that the leak of the failed helicopter insertion was initiated by them.
Reprinted with permission from Moon of Alabama.
