Russia advances in Pokrovsk, disrupts Ukraine’s supply lines toward Myrnohrad, DeepState says. Ukraine drones target Russia’s petrochemical plant, two oil refineries overnight. The Ukrainian Navy has received new Combat Boats 90 from Sweden and Norway.
Russia advances in Pokrovsk, disrupts Ukraine’s supply lines toward Myrnohrad, DeepState says
Russian forces have advanced in three directions, of which two in Donetsk region and one in the region of Dnipro, the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState said on Wednesday.
They have made gains in the city of Pokrovsk, near Chervonyi Lyman in the Pokrovsk direction and in Pryvillya in the Oleksandrivskyi direction.
According to DeepState, Russia has disrupted Ukrainian supply lines toward Myrnohrad and the wider agglomeration. The enemy uses infantry ambushes and drones to monitor and target the movement between positions and delivery of supplies.
Russian sabotage groups infiltrated Pokrovsk for the first time in July, DeepState said. Since then, they were searching for weak spots in Ukraine’s defenses. They found one that includes Zvirove, Shevchenko and an area that stretches along the railway from Kotlyne to Pokrovsk.
At least 250 Russian troops are inside the city, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda said on October 24, citing unnamed sources in military brigades deployed to the area. Russian forces engage in small arms fights and target Ukrainian soldiers on their positions, particularly drone pilots, it added.
Geolocated footage published on October 23 and 24 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced in central and western Pokrovsk and seized positions along the Pokrovsk railway line, the Institute for the Study of War said in a report on October 24.
Russia has accumulated 200 troops inside Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian General Staff said on October 26.
That same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi disproved Russian reports that thousands of Ukrainian troops were encircled near Kupyansk and Pokrovsk.
The 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine’s air assault troops said on Monday that urban fighting was raging in Pokrovsk, but Russian forces did not fully control any part of the city.
The Ukrainian Group of Forces Skhid (East) said on Tuesday that Russian forces had broken through the Ukrainian defenses on the outskirts of Myrnohrad. There is active street fighting in the city.
Ukraine drones target Russia’s petrochemical plant, two oil refineries overnight
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Stavrolen petrochemical plant in the Stavropol region overnight on Wednesday, Russian Telegram channel Astra said. The facility is part of the Lukoil group.
Astra geolocated the footage showing a fire that broke out in the city after the strike. It said the Stavrolen plant was hit. The factory is one of Russia’s main producers of polyethylene and polypropylene.
The region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said the attack did not cause much damage or casualties. First responders were working on sites where the drones fell.
Astra said the NS-Oil refinery in Novospasskoe in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region was also hit with drones. Regional governor Aleksey Ruskikh confirmed the attack and mentioned a fire it triggered, but did not say the oil refinery was a target in the strike.
Ukrainian drones also struck Russia’s Mariysky refinery in the Mari El region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had intercepted 100 drones overnight, with most, 46 drones, over the region of Bryansk. It also shot down six drones in Moscow region, including four that targeted Moscow. Russian air defenses intercepted four more drones in the Ulyanovsk region, three over the Mari El region and two in the Stavropol region.
Thirteen airports were briefly closed overnight following the attacks, including ones in Saratov, Gelenzhyk, Penza, Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Samara, Krasnodar, Ulyanovsk, Kazan, Cheboksary and Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, Zhukovsky and Domodedovo airports.
Ukrainian Navy receives new Combat Boats 90 from Sweden, Norway
The Ukrainian Navy has received new Combat Boats 90 (CB90) from Sweden and Norway, its commander, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neyizhpapa said in a post to social media on Wednesday.
“Boats of the kind are in service with our fleet. We’ve received more. A full division was formed out of these vessels,” Neyizhpapa said.
CB90s are among the best in the world and are widely used by NATO countries, he added.
The vessels are fast, maneuverable and durable. They were designed to perform a variety of tasks, from landing personnel and coastal defense to patrolling and protecting civilian shipping.
The boats are equipped to match modern warfare. The crews were trained how to use them efficiently.
“I have personally tested a Combat Boat 90 in action. I am convinced that the boats will become a powerful tool in our warriors’ hands,” Neyizhpapa said.
The supply of CB90s to Ukraine is yet another example of joint work within the Maritime Capability Coalition that strengthens Ukraine’s Navy.
