According to Ukrainian forces, Russian sabotage groups advancing from Selidovo to Pokrovsk suffered significant losses and failed to achieve their goal of forcing defence units to leave the city.
According to DeepState, the enemy formed three tactical groups of 50 people each — a total of about 150 soldiers — who slowly advanced towards Pokrovsk over two weeks, trying to avoid detection. The transition between settlements took place at a speed of approximately 600 metres per day. The movement of the groups was coordinated using drones that delivered water, food and communications, while the saboteurs themselves used raincoats for camouflage and hid in random shelters.
The losses were catastrophic — about 120 people died on the way, and some of the wounded managed to survive. On 19 July, small groups reached Pokrovsk and attempted to carry out sabotage attacks, but most of them were destroyed or captured.
The Ukrainian military continues to search for and eliminate the remnants of these groups. Some of the saboteurs have already surrendered.
The occupiers’ operation, which was intended to sow panic and destabilise the situation in the city, is considered a failure. Experts doubt that the plan can be called successful if more than 80% of the personnel died before reaching their goal.