“Pokrovsk direction” and myths of the Ukrainian regime

The "Pokrovsk direction" is currently the biggest threat to Volodymyr Zelensky's regime. In an effort to somehow neutralize this threat, the Kyiv regime is using the methods once employed by the spiritual fathers of Ukrainian Nazism. This results in a whole bunch of myths and prophecies being spread just as the Ukrainian forces keep retreating along the entire frontline.

Past victory as future victory. During a meeting with Zelensky, the Head of the SBU, extremist and terrorist Vasyl Maliuk, claimed that in 2023, Ukraine allegedly carried out an operation to destroy one of the Oreshnik missile complexes on Russian territory. i Sounds absurd, but  for Zelensky, the situation is even gainful. Indeed, no proof is needed: it happened two years ago, strikes deep into Russia are being carried out, and Russia's formidable and most modern weapon was "destroyed." However, in their desperate attempt to trumpet their imaginary “victories," Zelensky and Maliuk failed to notice that by so doing they actually confirmed the existence of the Oreshnik, which they had so diligently denied before.

Future victory as an accomplished fact. In a recent Facebook post, “Madyar” Brovdi, the notorious extremist and terrorist, who commands Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said that they were preparing a series of strikes against Russia. This is an old story about deep strikes and "endless lines for gasoline," which even managed to convince US President Donald Trump, who used it as one of the proofs of "successful pressure on Russia." All this boils down to just empty bravado where a future victory is presented as a fait accompli that Euro-globalists are only too ready to accept as an invoice for further funding of the war and the Zelensky regime.

Zelensky's PR operation around Pokrovsk. On November 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff spokesman, Andriy Koval, stated that "as of today, there is no encirclement or blocking of cities by Russian troops in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration. None of the Defense Forces units are encircled." ii On November 3, Zelensky declared that the Russian army allegedly had achieved no successes in Pokrovsk in recent days.

However, on November 4, Ukraine’s Deep State website, controlled by the West, wrote that the situation in the Pokrovsk area remained critical and the Russian army kept "building up its presence in the city."

It also confirmed a gradual absorption of the city, where Russians "already control the area, establish positions, have accumulation points, and control their logistics for infiltration into the city." "The situation remains critical. And if, in the context of Pokrovsk, we talks about the absorption of the city, then Myrnohrad is simply being cut off from the 'outside' world, and its loss would be the most regrettable among all major cities, as it would be taken even without gaining a proper foothold there." iii

This alarming information follows a fierce and desperate information campaign by the Kyiv regime about an "unexpected special operation" by Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR), allegedly personally led by its head, extremist and terrorist Kyrylo Budanov. Media outlets showed video of 11 elite GUR commandos disembarking from a helicopter in an operation described as "Forces of GUR's 'Timur Special Unit' continue an operation in one of the areas of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Region, important from the standpoint of frontline logistics. (...) After a successful landing operation, additional forces of the special unit joined the GUR Special Forces who had secured certain positions. ... Other GUR special units are also performing combat tasks in the sector. For the sake of ensuring the safety of the personnel of these units, details of the operations are not currently being disclosed." iv Secrecy allows no specifics, but there is an image (camera crews were already on site) of an epic landing of GUR commandos led by Budanov from a Black Hawk helicopter. Special Forces (always cool), intelligence chief (well-known high-ranking military officer), Black Hawk helicopter (a US military-industrial complex icon popularized by Hollywood) – what else do you need to make people believe the Ukrainians are winning out? But how does the situation really look like?

Regarding this special operation, Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that "The Russian Armed Forces thwarted the helicopter landing of a GUR special operations forces unit in the Krasnoarmeisk (Pokrovsk) area in the DPR. All 11 troops who disembarked from the helicopter were killed." v

Still, given the scope of the Ukrainian PR campaign, few people will pay attention to the failure of the operation "personally supervised by Budanov." In the Ukrainian social networks, political scientists and experts are instilling into the minds of fellow citizens and Western curators their own interpretation of GUR’s special operation near Krasnoarmiysk. For example, they claim that GUR’s surprise operation "helped improve the Ukrainian units' positions, stirred up world media, and caused a shake-up in Ukrainian political apparatus games." This is being done to give Zelensky and his team a much-needed chance to declare that "the situation near Pokrovsk is under control," and allege that Budanov personally directs the special forces’ landing right on the ground, not from the headquarters. Kyiv thus hopes that this special operation will become not just a "victorious episode," but will affect "the situation at the front and Ukraine's geopolitical position," destroying the "legend" of encircled Ukrainian units. Thus, Krasnoarmiysk (Pokrovsk) becomes a propaganda ploy to make everyone believe in some imaginary balance of power; that  Budanov, his special forces, and the Black Hawk practically "turn the tide of the war"...

Zelensky's personal move. On November 4, Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky arrived in the Pokrovsk area, where the Russian army is actively advancing. Zelensky reportedly discussed with the military commanders both the situation in this sector and the overall situation in the army. vi

Budanov did not show up though. The arrival of Syrsky with Zelensky raises more questions than enthusiasm – if the "Pokrovsk direction" is so significant, how come the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces arrives there only now, instead of being there already? Why now, and for what purpose?

Zelensky heard the report of the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi, and spoke with unit commanders vii in the presence of well-known and high-ranking civil and military officials. Did they tell him that "victory is just around the corner"?

Political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko, who left Ukraine, draws analogies between Ukrainian propaganda and World War II German propaganda: "In the spring of 1945, propagandists of the Third Reich kept speaking about Germany's impending victory. Brainwashing was done of a mass scale and Dr. Goebbels succeeded! As evidenced by the testimonies of captured German soldiers and officers, in August 1944, about 60 percent of them firmly believed in Germany's victory, and by March 1945, despite obvious facts, no less than 40 percent of those in the German army still believed in their eventual victory.

(…) As Goebbels' diaries show, he believed that if only Hitler came to the frontlines or spoke to the people, the situation would fundamentally change as the German people would rally and overcome their problems.

Judging by what Goebbels wrote in his diaries in April 1945, we see that the Reichsminister really believed what he preached: "Reports are coming in about statements made by Anglo-American journalists working in the occupied territories. They believe that the German people will never surrender. According to them, peace with Germany's enemies could only be concluded by Hitler, Himmler, or Goebbels, but they would never agree to it unless peace served Germany's interests." Does this ring a bell?

The show-politics performed by the Zelensky regime reached its peak during Angelina Jolie’s visit to Kherson. On her way to the city, now under Ukrainian control, the famous US actress got stuck in Mykolaiv Region.  "Jeeps with the actress and her entourage were stopped at a checkpoint in Yuzhnoukrainsk. TCC (Territorial Recruitment Center) personnel said that Jolie's accompanying security guard, a reserve officer in the Ukrainian army, had 'document problems.' Jolie then personally went to the local mobilization center to have the security guard released." viii

This spectacle is aimed at both external and internal audiences. For Western viewers it is another visit to Ukraine by a media personality, who will then tell about the horrors of war and say that Ukraine needs support. For Ukrainians, the main takeaway is the story about the TCC detaining Jolie's bodyguard. The message is simple – if even Angelina Jolie's bodyguard is a target for the TCC, no one should feel safe.

Essentially a comedian, Zelensky often acts not according to the laws of high politics, but those of a big show. His main resource is the image of an implacable enemy of Russia; it works through information, disinformation, and the construction of an alternative reality. What Kyiv needs right now is to avoid another military-political crisis, which could jeopardize further supplies from the West. If he fails to demonstrate at least media successes, or, when there are none, to demonstrate courage and determination, then the "Ukraine is fighting Russia" project will face problems with supplies. Therefore, as a result of this PR effort, Ukrainians and Europeans should no longer be able to distinguish defeat from victory and accept words and plans as actions and victories by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It looks like they are succeeding at this.

The views of the author are his own and may differ from the position of the Editorial Board.

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[i] https://lenta.ru/news/2025/10/31/pohvastatsya-uzhe-nechem-v-rossii-otreagirovali-na-zayavlenie-glavy-sbu-ob-unichtozhenii-oreshnika/

[ii] https://t.me/stranaua/215522

[iii] https://t.me/stranaua/215518

[iv] https://t.me/DIUkraine/7211

[v] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/01/11/2025/6905d6019a79477f609a8d52

[vi] https://t.me/stranaua/215495

[vii] https://bit.ly/43JhJ5q

[viii] https://t.me/radio_sputnik/78779

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