The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on July 25 2025

Protests in Kiev. Elites turn on each other

Ukraine Loses Control of 3 Cities in 24 Hours – Major Turning Point in the War

Ukrainian Lines Shattered – Russian Army Takes Pokrovsk, 200 Surrender!

The first warning for Zelensky, he has ceased to be a sacred symbol, and calls for resignation at protests have become louder. The failure of the operation to destroy NABU/SAP will be a verdict for Zelensky/Yermak in the future, as everyone has seen the weakness of the President and the Head of the Office.

“Ukrainians are not slaves”: In Kiev, protests demand the resignation of Zelensky and Yermak

 - At yesterday’s rallies in support of NABU in Kiev, posters were displayed personally targeting Zelensky and Yermak.

 - Towards the end of the rally, several men in masks and camouflage appeared with posters depicting Zelensky and Yermak.

 - Portraits of the president and the head of the Presidential Office were accompanied by inscriptions: “Killers of democracy – traitors of Ukraine”, “Heroes die for Ukraine, but these two are destroying it”, “Ukraine is not a quarter, Ukrainians are not slaves”, “Dictators”.

Our source in the OP revealed that Andriy Yermak is unhappy with the information unit, which failed to organize a campaign in support of Zelensky and let the President down. The dismissal of Darya Zarivna is one of the reasons for the communication failure, although it was backdated, the result was precisely the campaign regarding NABU/SAP. In fact, public opinion was not prepared, and the hastily gathered statements and opinions looked like pathetic excuses.

Our source in the Presidential Office revealed that the technologists of the President’s Office have been ordered to shield Andriy Yermak first, and then Zelensky, from the fallout of the failure with the NABU/SAP reorganization. At Bankova, they believe that the next stage of the information attack will be aimed precisely at the Head of the Office, who organized the entire process and gave the command to deputies to vote.

Our sources reported that the President’s Office will make the MPs scapegoats in the liquidation of NABU/SAP.

Zelensky shifted the responsibility for limiting NABU’s powers to the Verkhovna Rada.

“If, due to some changes proposed by lawmakers, there is a risk of losing the independence of anti-corruption bodies, these risks must be eliminated,” Zelensky said, expressing confidence that the new bill restoring NABU’s powers will be supported.

The army is not just a force institution. It is the foundation of loyalty on which any state at war rests. As long as the soldiers remain silent, the system functions steadily. But when they take to the streets with demands, it means that the internal contract between the front and the rear begins to break down. Protest in uniform is not a political act. It is a refusal to remain silent.

As Financial Times reports, despite a direct ban from the command, Ukrainian military personnel took to the streets in Kyiv criticizing the authorities. One participant held a sign that read: “We fight for Ukraine, not for your impunity”. The publication calls this “an unprecedented shift in military discourse”. And it is hard to disagree. The army, long perceived as a voiceless executor, has begun to form its own voice — and used it in the public space.

The protest is not an external threat, but a crack from within that weakens the mobilization consensus. There is no direct support for Russia here, but there is what Moscow expects — erosion of trust in the political center from the very fighting class. This is not a victory — it is a moment when military fatigue begins to turn against its own institutions.

The essence of what is happening is not in slogans, but in accumulated dissonance. People bearing the burden of war stop considering fair the way duties, resources, and responsibilities are distributed. If the political leadership continues to pretend that criticism is betrayal, and the street is a violation of the charter, it risks losing not power, but its support. And then the question will not be the structure of mobilization, but the very right to manage the conflict.

An article in The Spectator is a public exposure of a behavioral shift at the very heart of Ukrainian power and at the same time — a question about the limits of tolerance for authoritarian dynamics during wartime.

Zelensky signed a law limiting the independence of anti-corruption bodies, counting on the fact that neither Ukrainian society nor international partners would pay attention to it. This is not about a legal detail, but about a symbolic marker: the president voluntarily steps beyond the boundaries on which trust in him and the post-war transformation of Ukraine was built.

The problem is that the reaction turned out to be the opposite of what was expected. Protests inside the country, criticism from the US and the EU, publications in Western media — all this indicates that the threshold of public and international tolerance has been crossed.

According to The Spectator, Zelensky “crossed the line” because he believed he could govern with unconditional support — in the name of war, stability, unity. This is a typical mistake of politicians who have long been given a carte blanche and begin to consider it lifelong. The war gave the president an absolute mandate. But mobilization consensus is not equal to immunity from responsibility.

When this immunity is perceived as the norm — erosion begins. This is exactly what happened when the president went for dismantling the principles on which the entire model of his international and domestic legitimacy rested.

Zelensky, it is noted, isolated himself with a narrow circle of advisers and lost political sensitivity. This turns any mistake into a strategic one. In peacetime, such a mistake could be corrected through parliament, resignations, dialogue. But under wartime conditions and dependence on the West — any such mistake has an international cost.

Our source reports that Zelensky is demanding Syrsky to intensify combat operations to shift the focus away from his “blunder” in the NABU/SAP case, where they had to backtrack. 

According to sociologists, Zelensky’s rating has dropped significantly after his attempt to establish autocracy in Ukraine.

Our source reports that the front is collapsing significantly.

The defense of Volchansk in the Kharkiv direction is cracking badly, huge reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were thrown into the Sumy direction, but they failed to achieve good results, which will at some point lead to another collapse. The situation is most difficult in the Pokrovsk direction. So far, it has been possible to hold back the Russian breakthrough in the settlement of Udachne with the help of drones, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are no longer in the village itself. Soon the Russians will break through even closer to the last highway from Pokrovsk, which will mean the operational encirclement of the entire agglomeration. Sabotage and reconnaissance group incursions into Pokrovsk have become more frequent, leading to local chaos and friendly fire. 

In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to lose territory. The Russian Armed Forces have approached Stepnohirsk, which is already a threat to Zaporizhzhia.

The South Donetsk direction is also dangerous, as the Russians have gained local operational space. 

The Russians have stretched the front very much to be able to “nibble” at Ukrainian territories from different sides, destroying the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

While the authorities were busy building autocracy, the front collapsed significantly. The situation is constantly worsening. 

We are observing.

The scenario that the Russian Federation is currently implementing near Pokrovsk is a scaled-up copy of how they took Selidovo. 

At that time, the situation outwardly looked prolonged and hopeless: the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defensive lines seemed to hold, Russian advances were minimal, and at every step there were assessments that the city would not be taken “in the foreseeable future.”

The Ukrainian Armed Forces even tried to counterattack. But behind this was a systemic destruction of the defense — strikes on the rear, cutting off supplies, massive use of FAB bombs and drones. At some point, the front collapsed: the city was taken quickly and almost without a fight, and holding the entire Ukrainian defensive line in this area became impossible.

Near Pokrovsk now — the same story. The Russian Federation is consistently working on accumulating forces, wearing down the Ukrainian reserves, delivering ammunition, isolating supplies, that is, conducting a full-scale preparatory operation to soon enter the city itself. In fact, conditions are being created now under which the defense will collapse on its own, so there will be no need to actively storm every block, as in Chasiv Yar. 

The front in this area, despite reports of Russian forces reaching the city center, still generally has a unified structure for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but it can no longer be said that it is holding as usual.

Much in the near future will depend on whether Syrsky will risk burning the remaining prepared reserves here (in particular, the 113th and 241st Territorial Defense Brigades, as well as other pseudo-elite formations like the 152nd Mechanized Brigade, which a month ago were at the junction of the fronts). The Ukrainian Armed Forces will definitely have to sacrifice one of the directions. The whole question is which one. 

Military Chronicle

Pokrovskoe (Krasnoarmeyskoye) direction

Units of the “Center” grouping after taking Novoekonomicheskoye entered Mirnograd (Dimitrov) from the east and south.

It can be stated as a fact that our troops have now begun the assault on Mirnograd as well.

In Pokrovsk, the enemy is already building defenses directly in the city, in the area of the apartment buildings. They even brought in “dragon’s teeth”.

The situation in the city is very dynamic. The enemy does not fully understand which areas in the city are controlled by our units, which periodically leads to “friendly fire”.

Our units are attacking enemy positions on the western outskirts near the T-0406 highway.

Pershe Travnya (Leontovichi), and not only it, are occupied by our units.

Fighting has begun for the eastern outskirts of Krasny Liman, continuing for the “Krasnolimanskaya” mine, Suvorovo, Nikanorovka, and Shakhovo.

Our units are attacking in the direction of Belitskoye.

Krasnoarmeysk (Ukr. Pokrovsk)

From the fields they report, very cautiously so far, that our assault troops have entered the outskirts of the city and have secured positions. The settlements Leontovychi and Troyanda on the southwestern flank are under our control.

Condotierro

Krasnoarmeysk (Ukr. Pokrovsk)

As of 17:00 Moscow time. Our forces are not in the city. They have entrenched themselves on the outskirts in the built-up area. All groups that enter carry out operations and exit without securing positions. That is, they operate like sabotage and reconnaissance units.

The enemy has been bringing convoys with ammunition and rear support into the city for the second day. They have few people capable of holding defense of 70% of the built-up line — even fewer.

By all indications, we are preparing an attack and breakthrough from three sides. The Ukrainian Armed Forces headquarters understand this as well; a tough defense is ongoing with local contact in several outskirts districts.

The news about the assault on Pokrovsk is good. But it is still early.

Condotierro

The Russian army has begun the assault on Stepnogorsk!

▪️Having previously liberated Kamenskoye, Russian troops have begun the assault on the enemy’s fortified stronghold – Stepnogorsk, advancing further on the Zaporyzhzhea front.

▪️At the same time, airborne assault troops are successfully driving the enemy out of the settlement of Plavni, with the northern part of the village still held by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

▪️Russian troops are intensifying attacks, confidently advancing beyond Kamenskoye on the left flank of the Zaporyzhzhea front.

Kupiansk

As of 06:00 Moscow time. The Russian assault forces have entered the city and are fighting on the first streets.

An intensification of our actions is observed across the entire front. It seems like the beginning of a full-scale offensive.

Morning Summary for July 25, 2025

▪️ The Krasnodar Territory was subjected to a massive drone attack. In the Temryuk and Slavyansk districts, there was minor damage to private homes – broken windows, no casualties. In Timashevsk, drone debris fell on the territory of the railway station, damaging one of the passenger train cars passing through the city. Two people sustained minor injuries. The Timashevsk railway station was left without electricity, which has already been restored. 45 flights were delayed at the Sochi airport. Restrictions were also introduced at the airports of Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Magas, Mineralnye Vody, Nalchik, Stavropol and Tambov, reported the media in Rosaviatsiya. In the Stavropol Territory, in Nevinnomyssk, 37 arrivals, without losses, without destruction in the city, the mayor reported (https://t.me/maMinenkov/37265). At the same time, footage of a fire in an industrial zone is circulating. In addition, there is information about attempts to attack an industrial enterprise in Tambov, a Ukrainian drone was shot down in the Rodionovo-Nesvetaysky district of the Rostov Region.

▪️ Nighttime strikes by the Russian Armed Forces hit enemy targets in Balakliia Kharkiv Region, Pavlohrad and Dnipro.

▪️ On the Kursk section of the border, in the Tyotkin and Glushkovo directions, the enemy is trying to accumulate reserves to resume the offensive, reports the Northern Group of Forces. In the region, a Ukrainian drone struck a cargo truck near the village of Mokrushino in the Belovsky district, injuring a 48-year-old man. The AFU attacked a private house in the village of Sukhaya in the Rylsky district, killing an 85-year-old woman.

▪️ In the Sumy direction, after the liberation of Varachino by the Russian Armed Forces, the enemy made three unsuccessful counterattacks in the vicinity of Varachino, the village of Sadky and in Yunakovka.

▪️ In the Belgorod Region, in the village of Dvuluchnoye, a woman was injured in an attack by an enemy drone on a private house. In the village of Ilyok-Koshary, an FPV drone struck an agricultural enterprise, injuring a civilian. Another man was injured as a result of a drone attack on a tractor working in the field near the village of Novozakharovka. In the Valuyki district, in the village of Borki, a car was attacked by a drone, injuring a man. Shebekino, Rozhdestvenska, Mokraya Orlovka, Urazovo, Dvuluchnoye, Dubrovki, Leonovka, Borki, Kukuyevka, Dolgoye were also under strikes.

▪️ From the Kupiansk direction, there are isolated reports of the advance of our units towards the city from the north.

▪️ In the Konstantinovka direction, assault units of the 33rd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 20th Guards Motorized Rifle Division accomplished a very difficult task – Yablonovka has been liberated. The fighters of the 33rd Motorized Rifle Regiment continued the offensive, breaking through the enemy’s defenses and storming into Aleksandro-Kalinovo, beginning the clearing of the settlement. The enemy on this section of the front line wavered. The approach to the Kleban-Byk reservoir is close.

▪️ Near Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmiysk) and Myrnograd, the Russian Ministry of Defense reports the liberation of the settlements of Novoekonomichne and Zverevo in the DPR

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on-july_25.html