War

One thousand three hundred and sixty-second day. In the battle for Pokrovsk, Russia is using new tactics: no longer a “meat grinder” (as in Bakhmut) but small assault groups

Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect you, your life, the lives of your loved ones and your attitude towards the world? Find the feedback form at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .

Russia

Pokrovsk became the same symbol of Ukrainian resistance as Bakhmut earlier - but Russia’s tactics changed two years later

In recent weeks, the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which Russian troops are close to capturing, has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance - just like Bakhmut. The battle for Pokrovsk has been going on since 2024. By November 2025, the difficult situation in Pokrovsk was recognized by Vladimir Zelensky, who in a recent interviewannounced the possibility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrawing from the city. However, there are also significant differences - in the battle for Pokrovsk, Russia changed tactics, and this change reflects the evolution of the war over the past two years, writes CNN, which spoke with Ukrainian military officials and analysts.

One of the major changes has been the widespread use of drones, which are used over much greater distances. This has effectively expanded the “kill zones” on both sides of the front line, making it much more difficult for troops to advance on the battlefield, CNN notes. Instead of using heavy armored vehicles, Russian troops are increasingly trying to penetrate Ukrainian territory using mopeds and ATVs. According to an Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier stationed near Pokrovsk, their first meeting with the Russian military in a buggy was “extremely unexpected” - but at the same time logical in the context of constant drone attacks.

On the other hand, the situation in Pokrovsk is complicated by the fact that the evacuation of the wounded from the city is now almost impossible, Ukrainian doctors say. According to them, cars cannot drive closer than 10-15 kilometers, and even this is extremely risky due to drones. “The seriously wounded do not reach the stabilization point. If someone receives a moderate injury, he comes to me already in serious condition, if he manages to get there at all. Minor injuries turn into moderate injuries,” he told CNN.

The Ukrainian military called the battle for Bakhmut a “meat grinder” - due to the fact that Russian troops marched in waves towards the fortifications, and the Ukrainians, opening counter fire, revealed their positions themselves. This was accompanied by huge losses - but now, according to CNN, Russia's tactics have changed. According to the Ukrainian military, Russian assault groups have become smaller. “In urban areas they used to move in groups of five to seven. Now there's a maximum of three. But they are difficult to monitor with reconnaissance drones because there is less movement on the screen,” the source told CNN. Another Ukrainian fighter also notes that the Russian military moves in groups of three. In his opinion, they expect that two will be destroyed, but one “will still break through and gain a foothold in the city.” “There can be about a hundred such groups in a day,” he said.

Mason Clark, director of the Defense of Europe project at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington, believes Russia can afford such actions because it has “accepted a very slow tempo of offensive” - in contrast to 2022-2023, when it relied on rapid advances.

World

The President of Finland considers the cancellation of the Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest a “strategic mistake” of Moscow

A truce in Ukraine is unlikely until the spring, but European allies need to continue to support Kiev despite the recent corruption scandal in the Ukrainian energy sector, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Elected to the presidency of Finland in February 2024, Stubb effectively became a mediator between Trump and Europe. Stubb has a good relationship with the US president, with whom he has interacted privately over golf on numerous occasions - and partly because of this, he has become one of the key figures in the peace negotiations on Ukraine and in Trump's communications with European leaders.

“I’m not too hopeful about a truce or even the start of peace talks this year,” Stubb said in an interview, adding that it would be good to “get something going” by March. He names three main issues on the path to a truce - guarantees of the security of Ukraine, restoration of its economy and the territorial issue. According to Stubb, Trump and European leaders must increase the maximum pressure on Russia and on Vladimir Putin to change his way of thinking. Putin “essentially denies the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” and his goals have not changed in four years of war, Stubb said.

Stubb called the cancellation of the meeting between Putin and Trump, which was planned in Budapest, a “strategic mistake” on Moscow’s part. “They had a chance and they missed it,” he said.

Assistant to the Russian President Yuri Ushakov, in an interview with Rossiya 1 correspondent Pavel Zarubin, published on November 16, said that the meeting between Putin and Trump has now been postponed, but “contacts on this matter are ongoing.” “We are actively discussing Ukrainian regulation based on the understandings that were reached in Anchorage. We believe that this is a really good way to achieve peaceful regulation,” Ushakov said.

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

How we choose letters

Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.

Vladimir . I see unpopular opinions about the war. I'll say one more thing. I am originally from Lugansk. When the first phase of the war began in 2014, my family and I had to leave for Ukraine, leaving our whole lives behind. All the plans, hopes and dreams. First to Kharkov. Then to Kyiv. After living there for some time, we returned back. Then the second phase began. Already full-scale. Again we had to leave and start life over again for the second time - only now in Russia, because in Ukraine, as it turned out, we were no longer needed during this time. Well ok.

Reading the news every day has created a soulless feeling of indifference to everything that happens. Let everyone kill each other, on both sides, so that ordinary people can at least begin to restore the ruins and live without fear. It just doesn't matter anymore.

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