Fog Enables Russian Advances in Strategic City of Pokrovsk

Wed Nov 12 2025 11:33:11 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Thick fog conditions in eastern Ukraine have allowed Russian forces to deepen their advances into the key city of Pokrovsk, with reports of increasing troop presence and tense battling against Ukrainian defenses.

Thick fog in eastern Ukraine has facilitated Russian troops' progression into Pokrovsk, leading to intensified military actions. Amidst deteriorating conditions for Ukrainian defenses, the situation in the city has escalated, raising concerns among military analysts about the potential encirclement of Ukrainian forces. With reports of heightened Russian presence and aggressive tactics, the ongoing conflict continues to evolve under challenging weather conditions.

Thick fog has enabled Russian troops to move further into the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's 7th Airborne Assault Corps says weather conditions, particularly dense fog, have prompted Moscow to intensify its bid to get increasing numbers into the ruined city and encircle Ukrainian forces.

Russian forces have spent more than a year trying to seize the city, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the fog has favoured Russian attacks and the situation remains difficult.

Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has warned the situation on the front line in the southeastern Zaporzhzhia region has significantly worsened, with the loss of three settlements.

Syrskyi said however that Russia was most active around Pokrovsk. A video has gone viral showing Russian soldiers openly driving through a hazy road on civilian cars and motorbikes.

The BBC has verified the location where the video was filmed as the southern outskirts of the town on the Selidove-Pokrovsk highway.

For several days fog obscured visibility to carry out aerial reconnaissance, says a drone pilot from the 'Shershni Dovbusha' unit of the 68th brigade with the call-sign 'Goose'.

That's why, he told the BBC, the Russians had even dared to launch assaults using a column of vehicles, which would normally have been wiped out by Ukrainian drones.

The 7th Corps claims that there are now 300 Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk, with reports suggesting those numbers have probably increased recently.

Russian troops appear to be closing in on most areas of Pokrovsk, according to mapping by the Ukraine-based DeepState monitoring group. Some observers say that its fall is imminent.

Most parts of the city are now in a grey zone that neither side fully controls, says 'Goose'. We might hold positions in one building, but the enemy can be in the next one. They're trying to get behind our backs, he stresses.

Moscow is trying to encircle Pokrovsk and neighboring Myrnohrad in what is known as a cauldron. The tactics employed by the Russian forces include infiltrating logistical routes and targeting Ukrainian defenses through various aggressive methods.

As the situation in Pokrovsk evolves, the conflict in Ukraine continues to see fluctuating control and strategic movements from both sides.