Russia Has Committed All Available Marines To The 'Final' Battle For Pokrovsk

The 61st Naval Infantry Brigade joins the fight

The “last, final battle” for eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast began a few days ago, when four of five Russian marine regiments and brigades—recently redeployed to the east from the north—attacked northeast of the fortress city of Pokrovsk.

Now the fifth and final Russian marine unit has joined the fight. Russia’s reinforcements in the Pokrovsk sector are fully committed.

Well, their infantry are fully committed. They still haven’t used most of the tanks and other armored fighting vehicles they brought along with them from Sumy Oblast.

It was an ominous sign when, in late August, the Kremlin stripped five regiments and brigades from the Sumy front in order to bolster its center grouping of forces in Donetsk.

A few weeks earlier, the Russian 132nd Motor Rifle Brigade had slipped thousands of troops through undermanned Ukrainian trenches northeast of Pokrovsk and marched for miles until they were nearly in the village of Dobropillya, which sits astride one of the main supply lines into Pokrovsk.

A strong Ukrainian force anchored by the 1st Azov Corps counterattacked, relieved Dobropillya and cut across the Russian salient in several places, isolating, killing and capturing hundreds if not thousands of Russians.

Rather than pull back, the Russian grouping doubled down. The 177th Naval Infantry Regiment and the 40th, 61st, 155th and 336th Naval Infantry Brigades arrived from Sumy: potentially tens of thousands of marines and hundreds of AFVs, in all.

They attacked this week—most of them. At first, it seemed the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade was staying behind, perhaps as a reserve to replace the coming heavy losses. After a few days, it was clear the Russians weren’t keeping any marines in reserve. They’re all on the move.