November 13rd, 2025 - Ukraine's Tough Choice: Save Lives or Hold On as City Teeters

As Russia moves closer to capturing Pokrovsk, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv faces a difficult decision: pull back, accept defeat, and save lives, or continue fighting and risk greater casualties in a prolonged battle. This dilemma has haunted the Ukrainian military throughout the war, as it has tried to slow Russian advances at great cost. Ukraine has previously chosen to hold cities like Bakhmut and Avdiivka, despite mounting losses, in order to drain Russian forces and deny Moscow symbolic victories.

The logic behind Ukraine’s strategy is to force Russia to expend its resources, weakening its army for future engagements. There is also a political element to the fight: Kyiv does not want to allow Moscow to claim easy successes, which could harm domestic morale in Russia and sway international support, especially from Western allies. However, the situation in Pokrovsk is becoming increasingly dire, with parts of the city already under Russian control and neighboring Myrnohrad facing the threat of encirclement.

Military analysts and some Ukrainian commanders are concerned that Ukraine is repeating past mistakes by holding on too long in Pokrovsk. “Ukraine has previously held certain positions too long after the conditions became unfavorable,” said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Pokrovsk, with a pre-war population of 60,000, would be the largest Ukrainian city to fall since Bakhmut in May 2023, and its capture would allow Russia to push further into the Donetsk region, which it has long sought to control.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the difficult position around Pokrovsk, admitting that Ukrainian forces are outnumbered. However, he has shown no indication of preparing to order a retreat. Instead, he visited troops near Pokrovsk and discussed their needs in defending the city. Despite the challenges, Ukraine’s commitment to holding Pokrovsk remains strong, though the risk of prolonged urban combat is clear. Russia, with its superior resources, has shown it can replace its losses more easily than Ukraine, which continues to face severe shortages of troops.

Vyacheslav Shevchuk, a Ukrainian drone battalion commander, expressed concerns about urban combat in Pokrovsk. He noted that Ukraine lacks the manpower to clear Russian positions effectively and that heavy Russian bombings are making it difficult for Ukraine to defend the city. “The fate of this city is already decided,” he said, suggesting that Ukraine should withdraw its forces before they face unnecessary losses. He argued that pulling back to more defensible positions would be a prudent decision to preserve Ukrainian soldiers for future battles.

As the battle for Pokrovsk intensifies, the situation in Myrnohrad to the east is becoming more precarious. Russian forces have made significant advances, and some Ukrainian soldiers are trapped in a shrinking pocket. Though Ukrainian commanders are still holding their ground, the fear of encirclement remains. The city’s defenses are under constant pressure, and Ukrainian soldiers are focused on inflicting as much damage as possible on the attacking Russian forces. However, the question remains: when will the balance of attrition shift too far against Ukraine, forcing it to concede defeat?

The ongoing Russian assaults have created significant gaps in Ukraine’s defense lines, which Moscow has exploited in recent days to capture settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region. If Ukrainian forces do not withdraw from Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad soon, there is a real danger that the front will collapse, leaving Ukrainian defenses vulnerable to rapid Russian advances. Vitaliy Deinega, founder of the charity Come Back Alive, warned that failing to act could result in the loss of key positions and the fall of critical fortifications. The next few days could prove decisive in determining the outcome of the battle for these key cities.

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster) - Peremptory (adj, puh-REMP-tuh-ree) - Peremptory is a formal word used especially in legal contexts to describe an order, command, etc., that requires immediate compliance with no opportunity to show why one should not comply. It is also used disapprovingly to describe someone with an arrogant attitude, or something indicative of such an attitude.

Example: The soldiers were given a peremptory order to abandon the mission.

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