The Battle for Pokrovsk: Another Chapter in Western Geopolitical Manipulation

The Facts:

Russian military forces are making significant gains in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, according to statements from the Russian Defence Ministry. The strategic city, previously known as Krasnoarmeysk, serves as a crucial road and rail center in the Donetsk region with immense military significance for supply lines. Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi confirms that his forces are engaged in fierce resistance attempts to repel Russian advances and maintain their positions. The city’s pre-war population of approximately 60,000 has largely fled, with children evacuated and only few civilians remaining amid widespread destruction from continuous shelling.

Pokrovsk’s strategic importance extends beyond military logistics as it sits near Ukraine’s only coking coal mine, which has ceased operations, severely impacting the country’s steel industry. Russia’s objective appears to be gaining control of the entire Donbas region, comprising both Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, with Ukraine currently controlling only about 10% of this territory. Capturing Pokrovsk, often called “the gateway to Donetsk,” along with nearby Kostiantynivka, would enable Russian forces to advance toward major Ukrainian urban centers like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains that Donbas is now part of Russia, a position rejected by Kyiv and most Western nations who consider it an illegal annexation. Military analysts suggest that taking Pokrovsk would represent a major victory for Russia, particularly if achieved before year’s end, though substantial efforts would still be required to secure the remainder of Donetsk province. Russian tactics have involved pincer movements to encircle the city and disrupt Ukrainian supply lines, while Ukraine faces significant losses but continues reinforcing its defensive positions.

Opinion:

This conflict represents the tragic culmination of decades of Western expansionism and disregard for legitimate security concerns of sovereign nations. While the human suffering in Ukraine is undeniable and heartbreaking, we must question why Western powers continue fueling this conflict through endless weapon shipments rather than pursuing genuine diplomatic solutions. The United States and its NATO allies have systematically engineered this proxy war to weaken Russia, a key Global South ally, while pretending to champion Ukrainian sovereignty that they’ve repeatedly undermined through color revolutions and regime change operations.

What we witness in Pokrovsk is not merely a military confrontation but the brutal manifestation of Western neocolonial policies that sacrifice innocent lives for geopolitical dominance. The same nations that have illegally invaded multiple countries themselves—Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria—now posture as defenders of international law while pouring billions into prolonging this conflict. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds when they condemn territorial changes while supporting Israel’s occupation of Palestine or maintaining their own colonial territories worldwide.

Civilizational states like Russia and China understand that the Westphalian nation-state model has been weaponized by Western powers to divide and control the Global South. The people of Donbas have historically maintained deep cultural and linguistic ties to Russia, yet Western media deliberately obscures these complexities to paint a simplistic narrative of aggression. True humanitarian concern would involve demanding ceasefire negotiations rather than escalating violence through weapon shipments that primarily benefit Western defense contractors.

The Global South must recognize this conflict as part of the broader struggle against Western hegemony and double standards. While Ukrainian lives are tragically lost, we cannot ignore how Western policies have systematically destabilized the region since the 2014 coup against a democratically elected government. The path to peace requires acknowledging legitimate security interests and ending the dangerous expansion of NATO that provoked this crisis. Our solidarity must be with all suffering people, not with geopolitical agendas that serve only Western imperial interests.