The ATES guerrilla movement has reported substantial losses among Russian forces in the Pokrovsk sector. According to the report, the 15th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Federation has been heavily affected by ongoing clashes.
The ATES guerrilla movement detailed that the 15th Brigade is facing significant difficulties due to intense fighting. Russian troops have been heavily involved in attempts to capture Pokrovsk, leading to considerable problems for them. The report indicates that despite the deployment of large numbers of personnel and equipment, the Russian forces are struggling with coordination issues. Equipment failures are causing chaos, which in turn is increasing casualties among the troops.
In response to the losses, families of the soldiers, including mothers and wives, have been writing to the Russian president, urging him to address the situation. However, they have reportedly been advised to contact other authorities for assistance, according to the guerrilla movement.
The General Staff of Ukraine provided an update on the situation in the Pokrovsk sector as of 16:00 on August 20. They reported that the enemy forces have made 34 attempts to advance and push Ukrainian defenders from their positions in areas such as Vozdvyzhenka, Mykhailivka, Kalynivka, Novohrodivka, Hrodivka, Mykolaivka, Ptychy, Skuchne, and towards Zeleny Pole. Ukrainian defense forces have managed to repel 24 of these attacks, with ten ongoing combat engagements still in progress.
The Atesh movement, a military partisan group formed by Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, has made significant strides since its inception in September 2022. Established in response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Atesh has been active in both occupied Ukrainian territories and Russia.
The movement was officially founded at the end of September 2022. On September 26, Atesh published its soldier’s oath on their official Telegram channel, and by September 29, a video appeal was made public, calling for recruits to join the cause.
In November 2022, Atesh partisans executed a notable operation, killing 30 Russian servicemen in hospitals located in Simferopol. By December 2022, the movement took responsibility for setting fire to Russian soldiers’ barracks in the village of Sovietske. In January 2023, Atesh claimed the assassination of two Russian National Guard officers.
February 2023 saw Atesh’s involvement in a car bomb attack in occupied Nova Kakhovka, which resulted in the deaths of two Russian soldiers and the hospitalization of two others. A month later, on March 14, Atesh reported the killing of the deputy head of the military administration of Nova Kakhovka through a bomb attack.
In April 2023, the group blew up a Russian National Guard checkpoint near Oleshky, causing multiple casualties. Later in the month, on April 27, Atesh claimed responsibility for killing two occupiers in Velyki Kopani.
On May 6, 2023, Atesh attempted to assassinate Zakhar Prilepin, a Russian writer and political figure, with a car bomb at the Russian border from occupied Donbas. The car’s driver was killed, and Prilepin was severely injured but survived.
In July 2023, Atesh claimed responsibility for an ambush in Kherson, destroying two Russian military trucks and killing six military personnel. On July 17, Mustafa Dzhemilev, in an interview with The Guardian, revealed that Atesh maintains an online class for Russian draftees to conduct sabotage, with around 4,000 troops enrolled. Dzhemilev also mentioned that up to 1,000 Tatars might be willing to fight against Russian forces in Crimea if properly equipped. He expressed hope for an autonomous “National Republic” in Crimea with special status for Tatars after its liberation.
In August 2023, Atesh bombed a United Russia campaign office in Nova Kakhovka, killing three guards and destroying documents related to upcoming regional elections. By September 25, 2023, the group claimed to have provided information used in planning Operation Crab Trap, which involved bribing Russian officers to obtain leaked details about the Black Sea Fleet.
On June 12, 2024, Atesh confirmed the destruction of an R-441 Liven satellite communication station in the Moscow region. Shortly after, on July 5, 2024, Atesh agents successfully disrupted the Trans-Siberian Railway near Yekaterinburg by destroying a railway track used for transporting North Korean ammunition.