It’s the kind of battlefield twist that feels almost too brazen to be real, yet Ukraine’s frontline soldiers say it’s happening right now. Russian troops in the embattled eastern town of Pokrovsk are allegedly slipping into civilian clothes to mask their movements and ambush Ukrainian units, a tactic condemned internationally as a war crime.
According to the commander of Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade, known by the codename “Liutyi”, Russian forces have begun operating less like conventional soldiers and more like covert sabotage teams. Speaking to the national broadcaster Suspilne, he explained just how deeply unsettling the tactic has become.
“The most difficult thing is that they disguise themselves as civilians,” Liutyi said. “They have been changing clothes for a long time and receive instructions to do so. Sometimes we identify the enemy only after the start of the firefight, because civilians will not open fire on our units.”
Pokrovsk, set in Ukraine’s fiercely contested Donetsk region, has been a flashpoint for more than a year. Russian troops have spent months inching forward through what had been some of Ukraine’s most fortified defences, finally managing to push into the town in recent weeks.
Liutyi says their methods are only becoming more unpredictable. “They do not follow any standard procedures, but their movements still complicate our logistics routes,” he explained, a worrying development in a landscape already fraught with danger.
Weather as a Weapon
Beyond disguises, Russian units are reportedly capitalising on rain and fog to slip more easily through the city. Ukraine relies heavily on drones for reconnaissance, but murky weather can cripple visibility, giving Russian troops a rare chance to manoeuvre undetected.
And while Moscow’s forces have learned to avoid rolling heavy armour into Pokrovsk, it’s simply too exposed under Ukrainian fire, Ukrainian troops are still taking out the hardware that does appear. Soldiers of the 68th Brigade struck a Russian tank on 19 November as it attempted to edge towards the city, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Liutyi says Russia has stopped sending large columns of equipment into Pokrovsk after suffering extensive losses. “They abandoned those attempts, when 16–20 units of equipment entered at the same time, because it is difficult to hide equipment from us. We will find it anyway and burn it,” he said.
A Deadly ‘Killzone’
Yet despite Russian armour dwindling, resupplying the town remains treacherous. Russian forces have carved out a deadly 15-kilometre killzone around Pokrovsk, stretching all the way back to the frontline. The commander describes the density of enemy drone strikes as so overwhelming that Ukrainian troops often can’t use vehicles at all.
“Sometimes it is simply impossible to drive in,” he noted. Soldiers are frequently forced to make the journey on foot, threading their way through an area saturated with Russian surveillance and air attacks.
A War Crime in Plain Sight
Disguising as civilians to launch attacks, known as perfidy, is explicitly banned under international law and widely regarded as a war crime. For Ukrainian forces on the ground, though, it’s not just a legal issue but a daily battle against an enemy blurring the line between soldier and civilian.
