Ukrainian drone commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi reported that his units struck 976 Russian soldiers over 48 hours of intense fighting near Pokrovsk, casualty figures that could not be independently verified.
The claim, if accurate, would represent one of the deadliest periods for Russian forces in the battle for the strategic eastern city, where Moscow has deployed elite airborne units in an effort to break through Ukrainian defenses.
Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said on social media that drone operators hit 471 Russian soldiers on December 10, followed by another 505 the following day. The figures are equivalent to approximately two infantry battalions.
The Ukrainian commander said Russia’s 76th Guards Air Assault Division, an elite paratroop unit, suffered heavy losses while attempting to advance on Pokrovsk from the south on Wednesday. Armored columns sought to exploit poor weather conditions but encountered intensive drone attacks, according to Brovdi’s account.
Russian forces have been pushing toward Pokrovsk for months, with the city serving as a critical logistics hub for Ukrainian operations in the Donetsk region. Western military analysts say Russian troops are now within approximately three kilometers of the city’s southern outskirts, though Ukrainian forces continue to hold defensive positions in the northern sector.
The 76th Guards Air Assault Division is considered one of Russia’s more experienced units. Ukrainian military sources said in November that Moscow had deployed reserves from the division to reinforce the Pokrovsk offensive as part of a broader effort to capture the city before winter.
Brovdi has previously reported high casualty figures from drone operations. In social media posts, he indicated that Ukrainian drone units were eliminating an average of 282 Russian troops daily throughout November, with that figure rising to 395 per day in early December. These claims also could not be independently verified.
Both Ukraine and Russia regularly announce casualty figures for enemy forces that are difficult to verify due to restricted access to combat zones and the fog of war. Independent observers note that both sides have incentives to inflate or minimize losses for propaganda purposes.
Ukraine has invested heavily in drone warfare since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The Unmanned Systems Forces, established as a separate military branch in 2024, operates first-person-view attack drones, reconnaissance platforms, and electronic warfare systems that have become central to Ukraine’s defensive strategy.
The battle for Pokrovsk represents one of the most intense sectors of fighting along Ukraine’s eastern front, where Russian forces have made incremental gains despite heavy losses in personnel and equipment.
