Spectacular Black Hawk operation in Pokrovsk: "Very unexpected"
The final battle for Pokrovsk seems to be approaching.
Then Ukraine throws in three Black Hawk helicopters full of paratroopers.
- In addition, fresh reserves from other front sections have been thrown in, says BBC reporter Oleg Chernysh.
Quick version
For over a year, the Russian army has been trying to capture the strategically important Ukrainian frontline town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. On October 26, Putin claimed that the city was surrounded.
But that is not true, according to the Ukrainian analysis group Deep State, which is following the situation on the frontline day by day. On their interactive map, the area north, east and west of Pokrovsk is still Ukrainian, while most of the city is marked in gray:
- This means that there are battles inside the city, say Ukrainian journalist Oleg Chernysh in the BBC's Russian news podcast Tchto eto bylo from November 3.
At the same time, he notes that many analysts now believe that Ukraine must soon withdraw its troops from the city, if the Ukrainians are to avoid being killed or captured by the Russians.
Very unexpected
On October 31 – last Friday – two, or possibly three, American Black Hawk helicopters flew into Pokrovsk with eleven paratroopers from the Ukrainian military security service GUR in each crew.
– It was a very unexpected operation, says Oleg Chernysh.
What happened on the ground is not entirely clear. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a helicopter was shot to pieces and all the soldiers were eliminated. But Oleg Chernysh does not believe that:
– The Russians filmed when they flew in, so they had information that the helicopters were on their way. Nevertheless, they let the helicopters land, which shows that they did not have the ability to knock them out of the air. There are many questions about this, says Chernysh.
The Ukrainian army claims that the operation was a success, and that a film that allegedly shows how the helicopter explodes is fake.
“A PR element”
Oleg Chernysh is inclined to believe that the operation was successful, while he is a little doubtful about the purpose of the
-like operation:
“Many believe that there is a PR element in this operation,” he notes, adding:
“The helicopter approach is not a super important component of the operation to defend Pokrovsk. Other, more extensive troop forces have been deployed, which has not been officially announced. But there is information that fresh reserves from other front sections have been thrown into the area,” Chernysh says.
He believes that the stated purpose of the helicopter operation – apart from the attention it creates – must be for the arriving paratroopers to try to cut off the route that Russian foot soldiers have so far used to enter the city:
– In the southern part of Pokrovsk, Russian soldiers managed to get past the defenses already in early autumn. The important thing for the Ukrainians is to close the “infiltration route” that the Russians are using. If that succeeds, the Ukrainians’ chances of holding the city will increase significantly, says Chernysh.
To be decided in the next few days
Oleg Chernysh believes that it is only a matter of days before it is clear whether Pokrovsk will fall into Russian hands, or whether the Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has some unexpected ace up his sleeve to use:
– We’ll see. It will be decided in the next few days, says Oleg Chernysh in the BBC news podcast.
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