Ukraine Hammers Russian Troops in Donetsk

Drives Russians out of Mykhailivka, Volodymyrivka. Punctures Russian plan to encircle Pokrovsk

The distance between Volodymyrivka and Myrne, is just 11 kilometers. After nearly sealing off the breach the Russians had opened north of the city, Ukrainian forces have shifted to the offensive.

• Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi announced that Ukraine has seized two key settlements: Volodymyrivka and Mykhailivka.

• Volodymyrivka anchors the northern edge of Russia’s right flank near Pokrovsk, while Mykhailivka lies to the south.

• Following the capture of Mykhailivka, Ukrainian units pressed forward and have now entered the nearby settlement of Myrne.

  

The situation—and Ukraine’s plan—becomes easier to grasp when viewed through the current battlefield map on UAControlMaps. The objective is clear: Ukrainian forces are targeting the entire sector marked within the orange box.

Let’s take this step by step.

The Russians opened a 10-kilometer breach north of Pokrovsk, designed to give Putin something to boast about to Trump—proof that his forces could cut straight through Ukrainian lines. But just hours before the Trump-Putin meeting, Ukrainian troops struck back. They surrounded the breach from three sides and split it in half.

Within a week, the pocket—where more than a thousand Russian troops had been pushed in—was nearly wiped out. A few stragglers remain, hiding, while clearing operations continue.

That said, there’s little doubt the breach has been neutralized. Ukraine wouldn’t be charging forward if any sizeable enemy force still lingered behind them. With the breach cleared, Ukrainian forces didn’t pause. Instead, they pushed the offensive further, retaking ground both north and south of Russia’s right flank near Pokrovsk.

This battle will be intense. Russia has concentrated more than 110,000 troops in the Pokrovsk sector, along with some of its most capable drone and electronic warfare units. If you were to draw up a list of the best the Russian army has to offer, much of it is currently deployed around Pokrovsk.

The failure to hold their breach, however, is a telling sign of strain when pressure mounts. Rather than allowing the enemy to regroup, Ukraine has pressed forward, striking at Russia’s right flank. If Moscow loses this position, its year-long effort to encircle Pokrovsk collapses back to square one.

Still, the way Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi is framing this advance—as a defensive measure—suggests it is not the opening of a sweeping offensive, but a limited push with well-defined objectives.

“The situation is difficult, as the enemy has concentrated its main efforts on this sector of the front. However, the defense is being maintained. Additional support with ammunition, drones, and electronic warfare systems has been provided,” Syrskyi told reporters after confirming that Ukraine had seized multiple settlements in recent days.

I prefer this approach.

In fact, it goes a little further than what I had originally recommended. My stance had been simple: hold a strong defensive line, limit counterattacks, and wait until the final quarter of 2025. The logic was straightforward—let Western weapons flow into Ukrainian warehouses, stockpile them, and only then launch sustained counteroffensives. Europe only truly stepped up after April this year, and it will take months for that pipeline to fully deliver. Why spend those resources the moment they arrive when patience would have multiplied their impact?

That was my recommendation.

But Zelensky and Syrskyi have chosen a different path—mixing defense and offense in the same breath. Which is why I am not surprised to see the Commander-in-Chief subtly frame this offensive as a defensive operation. It may be literal, or it may be psychological—baiting the Russians into believing Ukraine has no broader plans beyond holding Pokrovsk. Either way, we will have to watch closely over the coming weeks to see how this unfolds.

What is certain, however, is that Syrskyi has denied the Russians any breathing space. After the EU–US summit, the Kremlin badly needs to show progress on the battlefield. They have to. In my August 21 assessment, I noted that Russia would lean heavily on its ground forces to sustain the illusion of momentum. By moving quickly—before Moscow could organize and launch a wave of high-intensity attacks—Syrskyi has seized the initiative.

These nuances matter on the battlefield.

As Ukraine pushes forward on the battlefield, the political struggle in Washington over how far to back Kyiv is unfolding in parallel—and the outcome of that fight will reshape the war.

The Concis has reported for weeks that Washington still blocks Ukraine from striking targets inside Russian territory—a blanket ban that has remained in place since February 2022.

That policy was first engineered by Jake Sullivan under Biden, and now the Pentagon’s “bro gang”—Hegseth and Colby—have managed to layer on even more restrictions.

The Pentagon has for months been blocking Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, U.S. officials said, limiting Kyiv from employing a powerful weapon in its fight against Moscow’s invasion.

A high-level Defense Department approval procedure, which hasn’t been announced, has prevented Ukraine from firing any U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or Atacms, against targets in Russia since late spring, the officials said. On at least one occasion, Ukraine sought to use Atacms against a target on Russian territory but was rejected, two officials said.

Bro Colby has now built a system where Ukraine must seek Pentagon approval before striking assets inside Russia. He even branded it with a name: the “Review Mechanism.” Under this setup, any Ukrainian missile launch tied to U.S. targeting data requires clearance—including British Storm Shadow strikes. In practice, that means a handful of officials inside the Pentagon decide what Ukraine can and cannot hit.

As usual, Trump is unlikely to be aware of the details. That may well explain why The Wall Street Journal chose to air this “open secret” at such a sensitive moment. GOP Senators should be hammering this point directly to Trump: these people are not serving his interests, but quietly advancing their own. They perform loyalty on social media while carrying out the opposite in policy.

The Pentagon’s bro gang is probably gaming out their future—betting on the next Republican administration to be even more loyal to the bros than this one.

Even so, the generals have finally made the move I’ve been anticipating for weeks. The United States has authorized the first batch of offensive strike weapons for Ukraine. The Trump administration has approved the transfer of 3,350 air-launched guided missiles, capable of being fired from Ukraine’s F-16s with a range of up to 450 kilometers.

Total value: $850 million.
Paid by: Europe.
Delivery: six weeks.

These missiles are next-generation precision weapons—often described as a hybrid between an air-dropped bomb and a cruise missile—designed to strike high-value fixed or mobile targets from stand-off distances, keeping aircraft well outside the densest air defense zones.

With their 450-kilometer reach, Ukraine’s F-16s can remain deep inside their own airspace, protected by Patriot and other ground-based systems, while still hitting critical targets in occupied territory. And this time, the volume matters: 3,350 units is extraordinary—enough to pulverize Russian logistics hubs with sustained, relentless strikes.

Since July 11, Washington has been edging, step by step, toward closer alignment with Europe and Ukraine. We now have five unmistakable signals of a directional shift: the United States is finally leaning in to reinforce NATO. The credit for that belongs above all to CJCS General Caine and General Grynkewich, who have pushed consistently for this course correction.

1. Five Patriot air defense systems have been cleared for transfer. Germany has already sent two units. The final order contract hasn’t been signed yet, but the agreement is confirmed at the highest levels. This one’s locked in. There’s no walking it back.

2. The Pentagon placed a $50 million order for tens of thousands of AI strike kits, powered by Auterion software, to enable Ukraine’s drone fleet. It’s not the size of the order that matters—it’s what it enables. Once the production line is active, Ukraine and any European ally can place follow-on orders. These kits will keep flowing to the frontlines, scaling the drone war with precision and autonomy.

3. The Pentagon’s twin missile orders—air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship—totaling over $11 billion in combined contracts.

4. 3,350 ERAMS to be delivered in six weeks. The first major decision to deliver offensive weapons at volume to Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

These moves are not routine—they’re battlefield signals.

The struggle between the pro-allies and the pro-bros inside the Trump admin has now gone too far. It cannot drag on indefinitely—something is going to break, and soon. My hope is simple: that GOP Senators sit down with Trump and make clear exactly what Bro Hegseth and Bro Colby are doing behind the curtain.

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