After suffering heavy casualties capturing most of Pokrovsk and neighboring Myrnohrad in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast last month, the Russian Center Group of Forces called in its reserve—the powerful 76th Guard Air Assault Division.
But despite being outgunned, outnumbered, and compelled to pull back in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, the Ukrainian 7th Rapid Reaction Corps was ready to meet the Russian reinforcements. Now the Ukrainian corps is rapidly dismantling the 76th GAAD, killing or maiming thousands of Russians in the process.
How many Russians are dying near Pokrovsk?The Ukrainian general staff in Kyiv tallied 1,400 killed and wounded Russian troops on 11 December. The same day, Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, attributed most of those casualties to the ongoing destruction of the 76th GAAD.
Map of the situation near Pokrovsk by Euromaidan Press; ground control by DeepStateMapBrovdi claimed his drone pilots alone killed 505 Russians on 11 December. "And there are still a loooong five hours left in the day," he quipped at the time.
"Their main worm reserve for Donbas has been thrown in—the force that was meant to seize Zaporizhzhia, the entire 76th Division, an 'elite' air assault formation," Brovdi added. "And that's exactly who we're grinding down now."
Brovdi projected the USF would destroy an entire battalion every day from the 76th GAAD until the division was all but eradicated as a fighting force. A battalion typically has several hundred soldiers. The over-sized 76th GAAD may have 15 battalions.
Key casualty figures from recent fighting:
- 1,400 Russian killed/wounded reported on 11 December
- 505 Russians eliminated by drone strikes alone on 11 December
- 446 Russian casualties reported on 16 December
- Most casualties attributed to 76th GAAD paratroopers
- Three regiments of the 76th Division now fully committed
Ukrainian corps reports ongoing destructionOfficial Pokrovsk Defense Update, Dec 16
— 7th Rapid Response Corps of AAF (@7corpsDSHV) December 16, 2025
On the approaches to Pokrovsk & Myrnohrad, Air Assault Forces, Marines, FPV drone units, SSO, Navy, National Guard, Police, and chaplains coordinate to stop enemy advances.
Enemy losses last week: 446 troops — up 30 % as full reserves… pic.twitter.com/onFzhRHd5h
Five days later on Tuesday, the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps reported another 446 Russian casualties, presumably counting killed but not wounded. Most were 76th GAAD paratroopers, the corps claimed. "The increase in losses is associated with the full involvement of the operational reserve—three regiments of the 76th Airborne Assault Division of the Russian Federation."
The 76th GAAD was in reserve in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast during the height of the fighting for Pokrovsk last month. Only after the Russian Center Group of Forces had marched into the town center, did the 76th GAAD finally deploy.
The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps spun the deployment as good news, claiming the air assault division was leaving the south for the east because the Center Group of Forces had lost too many troops capturing the twin settlements. "The enemy has to perform loss replenishment among personnel," the Ukrainian corps stated.
Explore further Can exhausted Ukrainian territorials save Huliaipole? Risky gambleIt was hardly a sign of weakness that Russia had reserves to commit to Pokrovsk. Ukraine, on the other hand, had very few reserves after committing its best free troops to a successful counterattack in Kupiansk, 160 km north of Pokrovsk. This paucity of uncommitted troops was one of the main reasons Ukrainian forces ultimately couldn't hold Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.
But the Ukrainian command did have one trick up its sleeve. Gambling that its forces in Sumy Oblast in northern Ukraine could spare a few battalions, commanders chopped the 95th Air Assault Brigade from Sumy to Donetsk just in time to help the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps meet the 76th GAAD.
The 76th GAAD's deployment. Unit Observer map.It was a risky move, but it worked. Now the Russian paratroopers are trying to move along the roads in and around Pokrovsk in order to assault toward the village of Hryshyne, a few kilometers to the northwest—and the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps is blasting away at them with drones and artillery.
The 76th GAAD "intends to move in several directions at once," the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps explained. "The defense forces are countering these attempts, cutting off the enemy's likely routes of advance and striking him with available forces and means, in particular artillery and FPV drones."
Russia's "1,000 bites" tactic and the manpower gapHryshyne holds. But then, Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad held, too—until they didn't. The Russian Center Group of Forces may have a 5-to-1 manpower advantage over the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps.
Russian methods leverage this manpower advantage. "Ukrainian commanders describe Russia's latest tactics as '1,000 bites,'" retired Australian army general Mick Ryan wrote for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. "Small teams seek gaps in Ukrainian front-line positions, which can be up to 1,000 meters apart and which generally do not have depth positions."
"When a gap is found," Ryan wrote, "the Russians pour through infantry and drones." That's how the Center Group of Forces gradually gained control of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. And it's surely how it plans to advance north of the settlements.
Whether the 76th GAAD will survive the effort remains to be seen.
Explore further Ukraine’s drones finally beat the fog—11 Russian tanks burn near MyrnohradWhat makes the 76th GAAD significant:
- One of Russia's "elite" airborne formations, based in Pskov
- Originally held in reserve to seize Zaporizhzhia
- Over-sized division with potentially 15 battalions
- Now committed to offensive operations around Pokrovsk
- Two lieutenant colonels from the division killed in December Kursk strike
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