In just three days, the northern flank of Ukraine’s defense near Pokrovsk and Mirnograd has begun to crumble under relentless Russian pressure. On July 14, the Russian Defense Ministry officially claimed control of the village of Mayak north of Mirnograd, confirming the breakthrough to the north. At the same time, Ukrainian military sources report that Russian troops have already crossed the Kazennyi Torets River near Razino and reached the outskirts of Krasnyi Lyman, a key suburb leading to the strategically important defense node of Rodinske.
After weeks of grinding battles on Pokrovsk’s southern approaches, where exhausted Russian units faced stiffened Ukrainian defenses, this sudden northern breakthrough has injected cautious optimism into Moscow’s broader offensive. The fall of Razino and the establishment of a secure bridgehead across the Kazennyi Torets have paved the way toward Rodinske, just four kilometers from Pokrovsk.
Rodinske is located on the T0515 highway, a vital supply artery for the entire Pokrovsk-Mirnograd urban agglomeration. Consolidated Russia advance there will not only sever this logistical lifeline but will also pave the way directly into the northern outskirts of Mirnograd itself, pushing Ukrainian troops into brutal urban combat. Ukrainian military channels attribute Russia’s rapid progress to the open terrain in this sector, where Kyiv’s forces have failed to establish a cohesive defensive line. Russian assault units exploit gaps in these disorganized positions, infiltrating behind Ukrainian strongpoints and systematically dismantling resistance.
Meanwhile, Russian troops have tightened their grip on Nikolaevka (Mykolaivka), adjacent to Novoekonomicheskoe, which lies a mere three kilometers from Mirnograd. According to preliminary reports from the battlefield, Nikolaevka is already under the full Russian control, while Russian troops entered the vital village of Novoekonomicheskoe in the north, supporting their offensive from the south.
The broader Russian strategy mirrors the tactics that led to the liberation of Ugledar, Avdevka, and Krasnogoroka, which includes isolation of the enemy, strangling their supply lines, and let attrition do the rest. With each captured village, the encirclement of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd grows tighter. Only two major supply routes remain for Ukrainian forces. They include the T0406 highway toward Dnipropetrovsk region, which is already under heavy Russian fire control, and the E50 road linking Pokrovsk to Pavlohrad. Kyiv is desperately funneling reinforcements to hold these corridors, knowing that without them, the entire agglomeration risks becoming a cauldron.