The latest dynamics of the Russian battlefield: the war on the front and the new trends of NATO

In the complex situation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, every change on the battlefield has caught the eye of the world. Recently, the Ukrainian Dnipro Operations Group spokesman, Lieutenant Lieutenant-General Peersky, on September 30, detailed to the outside world the latest battle situation of the Pokrovsk front, revealing to us part of the veil of this land of war.

Pokrovsk front: Russia¡¯s offensive against Ukraine is unstable

Lieutenant Colonel Persky said that Russian troops continued to attempt to infiltrate along the nominal Sverov interior line, targeting Pokrovsk. In fact, the Russian army had reached this route as early as the summer. However, despite its overwhelming numerical advantage, with each Ukraine brigade often facing two or three enemy brigades, with two to three times the strength of Ukraine, it has not been able to achieve a greater breakthrough.

In order to make up for the losses in the battle, the Russian army continued to replenish new recruits, but these efforts did not lead to the advancement of the front line. Since October 2024, Ukraine troops have been carrying out defense work in Pogrovsk for nearly a year. During this long process of holding, the Ukrainian army has achieved remarkable results and has eliminated more than 60,000 Russian troops, half of whom died on the spot.

Colonel Peelsky also revealed that the Ukrainian army is capturing many Russian soldiers. The reasons for the surrender of these captured soldiers vary. Some Russian soldiers have seldom chosen to surrender, for example, when they are in an exposed position, the ammunition is exhausted or injured, they can only give up resistance. There are also some Russian soldiers who surrender out of fear after firing a few shots or throwing a few hand grenades at Ukrainian troops.

Russia has also conducted some investigations on the identities of these captured soldiers. The results showed that many of the captured soldiers were forced or tricked into signing contracts. Among them were people from former Soviet republics who went to the battlefield in order to obtain Russian citizenship, or to be subject to criminal investigation and threatened with arrest or confiscation of property. Some of them are also occupied Ukrainians, who are usually completely incompetent and lack adequate military training. Some inmates said they had never served before and the alleged preparation was just a week on the training ground.

Experienced Russian soldiers scornfully call these soldiers "disposable consumables," meaning they are used once on the battlefield and then discarded. These "disposable consumables" were ordered to move towards nearby villages or wooded areas said to be already under Russian control, usually in groups of two to four, towards Russian defensive positions. During the operation, they were often hit by Russian drones and artillery fire. Most of them were killed or injured, and a small number chose to surrender.

Lieutenant Colonel Persky said that Russian officers used these "disposable consumables" to identify Ukrainian firing positions and then called rear fire for support. The specific method is to force these soldiers to charge. When the Ukrainian troops fire, Russian officers can see the fire point and then call rear firepower to attack this fire point.

At present, the villages of Berezov, Kalinivsk and Novoivanivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast are still under Ukrainian control.

NATO's new plan: deploying air defense system in Ussi attracts attention

In addition to the fierce battles on the Pokrovsk front, another news from the Daily Telegraph has also caused widespread attention. NATO plans to deploy air defense systems in western Ukraine and may cover major cities such as Kiev. European leaders will discuss the plan at an emergency EU summit held in Copenhagen.

NATO has a clear goal of deploying air defense systems in western Ukraine to provide air defense protection in the region, while helping Ukraine move the air defense systems originally deployed in the west to the east to enhance the defense capabilities of the eastern front.In addition, NATO air defense systems will only shoot down Russian-launched missiles or drones, will not cause casualties to the Russian military and will not theoretically lead to a direct conflict with the Russian military.

However, NATO's deployment of air defense systems in western Ukraine is not without risks. From another perspective, this is also a test for the Kremlin, which is to say, Russia. After all, this act is already at war with Russia to a certain extent. Now it depends on whether Russia dares to escalate the war again and what the Russian leaders will do next.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still going on, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the attention of the international community has never stopped. Whether it is the fierce fighting on the front line or NATO's new plans, they will have an important impact on the direction of this conflict. How Russia and Ukraine and the international community will respond in the future deserves our continued attention.