Ukraine needs 10 times more troops to hold off Russia’s advance on Pokrovsk

The Wall Street Journal reported the information after speaking with Ukrainian servicemen and medics on the front line.

One of the infantry platoon commanders said that last spring, due to intense infantry battles, the Ukrainian army was forced to retreat constantly in the Pokrovsk sector.

According to him, the Russian army outnumbers Ukrainian forces by about ten to one, despite suffering heavy losses, with a kill ratio of 7 to 1 in Ukraine’s favor. However, Ukraine still lacks infantry, and to fully halt the Russian advance in the Pokrovsk sector, it would need ten times more troops.

According to the publication, a frontline medic near Pokrovsk stated that about 70% of Ukrainian casualties are caused by Russian drones. As a result, every military vehicle entering the city is equipped with electronic warfare (EW) systems. However, Russian fiber-optic drones cannot be jammed, leaving shooting them down as the only solution.

The Ukrainian army also actively uses drones, which help disrupt frequent Russian assaults but cannot fully prevent Russian infantry from infiltrating dense urban areas in the Donetsk region.

• Over the past day, on February 6, 101 combat engagements were recorded on the Russian-Ukrainian front. In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled 36 Russian attacks.