Ukraine’s Operational-Strategic Group of Forces “Dnipro” has rejected claims of a Russian breakthrough on the Pokrovsk and Dobropillia axes in Donetsk region, saying a small enemy party of roughly 5–10 soldiers infiltrated beyond the first Ukrainian defensive line but did not seize or hold the territory depicted on several public maps.

Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for OSUV “Dnipro”, said recent graphics produced from open sources may have misled audiences by marking the detected presence of small groups as area control. “Russians are using a seepage tactic,” he said, describing repeated attempts by light teams to skirt forward positions. Their movements, once geolocated by observers or drones, can be plotted as deep incursions on situation maps, which “creates the impression that Russians have advanced 12 kilometres into Ukrainian territory”. He added: “It is not that they took this territory under control. We are talking about a small group of about 5–10 people.”

According to Trehubov, the incident in question involved a limited Russian element moving past the first line and attempting to conceal itself to Ukraine’s rear, including efforts to avoid contact or to accumulate undetected. When such parties continue further, they tend to encounter Ukrainian electronic warfare teams, drone operators, or patrols, he said. Ukrainian reserves were dispatched “to knock them out and destroy them”, and the spokesman underlined that these actions did not amount to a sustained penetration supported by armour, logistics, or the capacity to expand a breach.

Ukraine’s Strategic Communications directorate (StratCom) amplified the clarification, stating that reports of a breakthrough on one sector of the eastern front “are not reliable and do not reflect real facts”. StratCom noted a comparable episode in Pokrovsk about a week earlier, when a small sabotage-and-reconnaissance group infiltrated the urban area without achieving its objectives and was subsequently countered.

The military stressed a distinction between reconnaissance-in-force or infiltration and control of terrain. In open-source cartography, even transient or covert enemy presence—especially when confirmed by imagery or signals—can be rendered as a “wedge” or salient. Operational-Strategic Group ‘Dnipro’ (OSUV ‘Dnipro’) said this portrayal should not be read as evidence that defensive lines have collapsed or that the adversary holds every point within the plotted shape.

The comments followed posts on 11 August by the analytical project DeepState, which reported increased Russian activity towards Dobropillia and attempts to establish positions near the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk highway. Public maps reflecting that activity showed two triangular salient-like markings in the Dobropillia area. OSUV “Dnipro” said that, while the adversary continues to apply pressure by rotating multiple small teams, the situation is being monitored and addressed by layered counter-infiltration measures.

Trehubov described the Russian method as a persistent application of small, lightly equipped groups seeking to bypass strongpoints and slip behind the forward edge. Once detected, he said, they are engaged by fire and manoeuvre. The presence of such teams is “recorded”, which explains why open-source maps may show depth that overstates the extent of any positional change. He emphasised that moving undetected along a route and “hiding in one basement” is not equivalent to establishing control along that route or altering the line of contact.