Russia redirects reserve units from Pokrovsk to Kursk region – ISW

This information comes from a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

On August 14 and 17, Russian sources claimed that at least a company from the 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (2nd Combined Arms Army) was redeployed from the Pokrovsk area to the Kursk region. Russian and Ukrainian communities also reported that unspecified units of the 15th Brigade had been relocated to Kursk.

However, ISW noted that units of this brigade were still operating east of Pokrovsk as of mid-August.

On August 19, the OSINT organization Evocation.info reported that Russia also transferred elements of the 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Army Corps "DPR") from the Donetsk area to Kursk. In late July and throughout August 2024, ISW recorded claims that this brigade had been active in the Toretsk and Pokrovsk areas.

ISW emphasized that there’s no evidence the redeployed units had previously engaged in frontline combat in Toretsk and Pokrovsk directions, considered critical by Russia. Most likely, these relocated units were reserves.

Analysts believe the Russian command intended to use these reserves to reinforce its positions in these areas and to avoid the premature collapse of their operations.

The Institute's experts also highlighted that the decision to move limited units to Kursk instead of focusing on the capture of Pokrovsk or Toretsk indicates that the Russian military command is struggling to maintain its priority offensive operations in the Donetsk region without drawing on additional manpower.

Analysts pointed out that, so far, the Russian military command has avoided relocating forces intended for the offensive in Toretsk or Pokrovsk to defensive operations in Kursk, instead pulling from less critical areas — such as northern Kharkiv, the Kupyansk–Svatove–Kreminna line, and the western Zaporizhzhia region.

The redeployment of small elements from the 15th and 1st Motorized Rifle Brigades is unlikely to significantly impact the situation on the battlefield in Pokrovsk or Toretsk due to their limited size.

It’s still unclear whether the Russian military command has already sent or plans to send additional reserves, initially intended for operations in Pokrovsk and Toretsk, to counter the Ukrainian advance in Kursk.

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