Commander of the Air Assault Forces: claims of the 'loss' of Pokrovsk harm the military
Commander of the Air Assault Forces (DShV) Oleg Apostol criticized statements about the "loss" of Pokrovsk, calling them harmful to troops at the front. He stressed that the city is holding, and that Russian flags do not signify actual capture of the territory.
By Oleg Bazylewicz
November 30, 2025 · 1 min read
Statements that Pokrovsk is "lost" or supposedly surrounded by Russians harm the troops at the front and demotivate them. This was stated by the commander of the Air Assault Forces, Oleg Apostol.
He gave the example that the topic of the fighting in Pokrovsk is being intensively discussed in the information space. Sometimes there are claims that the city has supposedly already been captured by the Russians, but at such moments soldiers "have questions".
"I am a serviceman and I don't understand why you are doing this... You are affecting our subordinates, the lower command echelon who are standing there in defense... And the person who shouted that Pokrovsk is lost — where is he? What has he done: did he apologize or should he apologize, or should he keep quiet? We are at war and your actions are somewhat harming our efforts."
– emphasized the commander of the Air Assault Forces.
At the moment Pokrovsk is holding, the general emphasized.
Explanation regarding Russian flags
Apostol provided a detailed explanation regarding Russian flags that the occupiers hang in certain districts or settlements as a sign of "capture". According to him, this does not mean the enemy actually controls that area.
"If you see a flag being raised somewhere in a village, that does not mean the settlement has been captured. Because a serviceman ran in, raised the flag and then died two hours or half a day later. We will not be hanging flags, but certain areas of Pokrovsk are already under our control."
– emphasized the brigadier general.
Context
On November 27, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that over the week the Defense Forces cleared about 11.5 km² in Pokrovsk.
That same day the Air Assault Forces reported that fighting in Pokrovsk continues along the railway line and in the city center.
