As the battle for Pokrovsk continues, Meduza’s military analysts weigh the costs for Ukraine on other fronts
Like our earlier reports on the combat situation in Ukraine, this article takes stock of the recent developments on the battlefield based on open-source information. Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the very start, and our detailed military analyses are part of our commitment to objective reporting on a war we firmly oppose.
Our map is based exclusively on open-source photos and videos, most of them posted by eyewitnesses on social media. We collect available evidence and determine its geolocation markers, adding only the photos and videos that clear this process. Meduza doesn’t try to track the conflict in real time; the data reflected on the map are typically at least 48 hours old.
Key updates as of November 19, 2025
Russian forces have not managed to fully encircle the Ukrainian grouping in Myrnohrad, outside Pokrovsk. But Ukraine’s troops still haven’t secured the city: they’ve been unable to establish a reliable corridor to its garrison, and the Ukrainian command isn’t rushing to withdraw the nearly surrounded units. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to build up inside Pokrovsk and may soon move on the village of Hryshyne, where Ukrainian units tasked with breaking the blockade of Myrnohrad are positioned.
The fight for Pokrovsk and its outskirts has already consumed significant Ukrainian resources and pulled in large numbers of reserves. As a result, defenses elsewhere have weakened. Russian troops are rapidly approaching the northern edge of the fortified city of Hulyaipole in eastern Zaporizhzhia, attacking Kostiantynivka and Siversk, and trying to push toward the Siverskyi Donets River near Lyman.
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Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Novopavlivka
After Russian forces pushed into Pokrovsk with significant manpower in early November, Ukraine’s military command turned to a familiar strategy: it brought in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skala.” For more than a year, these assault troops have been rushed to critical sections of the front to carry out counterattacks — often successfully. In Pokrovsk, they managed to reach the city center. But behind them, Russian forces continued consolidating on the northern outskirts, threatening to cut the road between Myrnohrad and Hryshyne. Ukrainian drones spotted and hit a small group of Russian assault troops along the Myrnohrad–Hryshyne road.
Inside Myrnohrad, units from two Ukrainian brigades remain squeezed between Russian forces advancing from the south, east, west, and northeast. Russian troops have already taken most of the city’s southern district and have entrenched themselves in residential areas in the north. Supplying the Ukrainian garrison there is now clearly difficult. Russian aircraft are carrying out constant strikes on residential neighborhoods where Ukrainian soldiers could be sheltering.
Ukraine’s military had planned to break through to Myrnohrad from the north by eliminating the Russian salient near the town of Rodynske and the village of Chervonyi Lyman. But so far these attacks — including tank assaults — have failed to achieve a breakthrough. Open-source videos from the area indicate that Russian forces still hold the southern part of Rodynske, and, farther north, the village of Dorozhne. And from Chervonyi Lyman, Russian troops are continuing their attacks on Myrnohrad’s outskirts.
Russian commanders understand that around Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, their forces remain constrained by large Ukrainian formations positioned on both flanks. The Russian grouping near Rodynske (part of the 51st Guards Combined Arms Army) has faced supply problems for some time: its logistics run through a narrow corridor through Malynivka and Novoekonomichne.
To solve this issue — which also prevented the 51st Army from exploiting its late-summer breakthrough near Dobropillia — Russia redeployed two naval infantry brigades from the Sumy region. Their mission was to seize the road junction at Volodymyrivka and Shakhove, which would improve supply routes for all Russian forces east and north of Pokrovsk.
So far, Russian troops have been unable to fully capture Shakhove. In their attempts to seize Volodymyrivka and Shakhove, the naval infantry brigades have taken heavy equipment losses — documented in numerous videos taken by Ukrainian drones.
On the western flank, Ukrainian forces still control Hryshyne, the western approaches to Pokrovsk, and the road to Dnipro up to the city’s entrance. Russian commanders are trying to eliminate this threat through a more ambitious maneuver: pushing north from the point where the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions meet, advancing toward Mezhova via Novopavlivka. Early this week, Russian forces that had crossed the Vovcha River near Filiya and Ivanivka launched a large-scale assault on Novopavlivka, with the support of armored vehicles. Heavy fighting is underway for control of the settlement’s center. If the operation succeeds, Russian troops could press on toward Mezhova and farther toward the Pokrovsk–Dnipro highway.
The Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions
While Ukrainian forces are still mounting heavy resistance near Pokrovsk, they’re rapidly retreating south and west of Novopavlivka under the pressure of Russia’s larger “Vostok” contingent.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) tried to stop the Russian advance along the natural defensive line of the Yanchur River. But in early November, Russian units crossed the river in several places and continued pushing toward Hulyaipole — a key Ukrainian stronghold anchoring the defense of the eastern part of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Russian troops have already cut off the AFU’s northern supply route, the Hulyaipole–Pokrovske road, near Danylivka. Forward Russian units have also captured the village of Zatyshshia, about four kilometers (2.5 miles) east of Hulyaipole. If Russian forces manage to cross the next water obstacle, the Haichur River, Hulyaipole could face encirclement.
Russian units are also threatening to seize the settlement of Pokrovske, which could open the way for an advance on the city of Zaporizhzhia from the east, deep into the Dnipropetrovsk region.
To slow Russia’s unusually fast advance (by the standards of this war), Ukraine’s military command will almost certainly need additional reserves. But the AFU has few free units at the moment — most available forces (including some redeployed from the Hulyaipole area) have been tied up in counterattacks near Pokrovsk since August.
Kostiantynivka
After months of fighting, Russian forces have succeeded in cutting off all land routes to the northern outskirts of Toretsk, where Ukrainian units had been holding positions on the shores of the Kleban-Bykske Reservoir. Units of Russia’s 8th Army have reached the reservoir’s western end near Yablunivka and its eastern end near the village of Kleban-Byk. To the north, Russian troops have pushed into the center of Ivanopillia.
The AFU may still try to supply the forces holding the southern bank of the reservoir using boats and drones, though it’s more likely they’ll pull the units back to strengthen the defense of Kostiantynivka.
North of Ivanopillia, Russian troops have already entered Kostiantynivka. But the AFU hit the advancing forces on their flank, launching an armored counterattack near Predtechyne and Stupochky.
The battle for Kostiantynivka, which shields the Kramatorsk–Sloviansk urban area from the south, is only beginning. Russian command will likely try to supplement the frontal assault with attempts to outflank the city from Shakhove and Yablunivka in the southwest and Markove in the northeast.
Siversk and Lyman
Russian forces are pushing forward along both banks of the Siverskyi Donets River in the direction of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
On the northern bank, Russian troops have become stuck along the line stretching along Novoselivka, Drobysheve, the eastern outskirts of Lyman, the edges of Torske, and Yampil. In the Torske–Yampil area, Ukrainian counterattacks have managed to stall the Russian advance. The situation is more difficult on the western flank, between Novoselivka and Lyman, where Russian units continue trying to slip through river crossings and into central Lyman.
Defending the bridgehead on the north bank of the Siverskyi Donets is essential for the AFU in order to prevent Russian forces from crossing the river. If Russian troops were to secure positions along the river, they could put Sloviansk within range of FPV drone strikes and artillery fire (the distance from the river to the city center is less than 15 kilometers or about nine miles).
On the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets, Russian troops have captured Dronivka, a village on the heights north of Siversk. Siversk itself sits in a low-lying area, and Russian forces have already reached its outskirts from the south.
If Russia were to seize Siversk — especially the high ground to its west — it could open a path for an advance on Sloviansk from the east. For the AFU, the threat would become even more serious if that offensive were coordinated with Russian forces operating on the northern bank of the Siverskyi Donets.
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Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team