Pokrovsk was once a bustling city of 60,000 people in Donetsk Oblast, a region of eastern Ukraine. Now, it more resembles the infamous Chernobyl Exclusion Zone than the lively city it was before the war.

The previously busy city streets are lined with bombed buildings, burnt-out cars and rubble. Once the center of Ukraine’s coal industry, much of the population has fled. The few remaining residents have no power or running water.

With peace negotiations at an impasse, Ukraine is likely in for a long fight against Russia, which has set its sights on Pokrovsk. Instead of engaging in a bloody urban battle in Pokrovsk, Ukraine should withdraw its forces further west to more defensible positions.

The situation around Pokrovsk is increasingly critical. Although the city was once many miles from the fighting, Russia’s slow advances in Donetsk Oblast have put the city in an especially perilous position. To the south, Russian forces are attempting to infiltrate the village of Zvirove, around five kilometers from the city. To the north, Russian forces have begun advancing down the road to Myrnohrad, a Ukrainian-held city located approximately seven kilometers from Pokrovsk. Russia has also taken the village of Mykolaivka to the east, about twelve kilometers from the city.

Russia’s advances have put Ukraine’s supply lines within reach of Russian attacks, making it extremely dangerous to resupply Ukrainian troops in the city. Should the roads into Pokrovsk be captured, Ukrainian forces would be trapped in the city without food, water, ammunition or medical supplies. Thousands of soldiers could be killed, captured or forced to attempt a risky advance through Russian-held territory to break their encirclement.

While Russia has plenty of manpower to pursue these meat grinder tactics, Ukraine does not. By avoiding a major urban battle in Pokrovsk, Ukrainian soldiers can continue to strike at the Russian assault from afar, allowing them to wear down the Russian numerical superiority without incurring similar casualties of their own and improving their position for a long-term conflict.

Ukrainian soldiers are also facing an onslaught of advanced Russian weaponry. Russian aircraft drop powerful “glide bombs” from miles away from the frontline, leveling buildings and decimating Ukrainian positions.

In addition, Ukraine continues to face a severe shortage of manpower. Despite an ongoing draft, Ukraine has been unable to replace its losses through its limited mobilization. As a result, large gaps exist between Ukrainian frontline positions, sometimes as wide as half a mile.

Additionally, positions are often held by concussed or wounded soldiers, rendering them unable to effectively prevent small groups of Russian infiltrators from attacking Ukrainian-held territory. Because of this, specialist soldiers, such as drone or artillery crews, have to engage Russian troops that slip past infantry positions, despite being miles behind the frontline.

Ukraine has already found itself engaged in long, bloody urban battles in the east of the country. The most well-known of these occurred in Bakhmut, another city in Donetsk Oblast. Like Pokrovsk, Russia first fought brutal battles to capture the areas surrounding Bakhmut before advancing into the city itself. Casualties were very high, with Russia suffering between 20,000 to over 40,000 deaths in the battle, according to Russian sources. Despite these casualties, Russia took the city and still controls Bakhmut to this day.

If Ukraine attempts to continue defending Pokrovsk, it will likely be drawn into a repeat of the battle for Bakhmut and both countries will suffer thousands of casualties. Ukraine’s population is approximately one-third the size of Russia’s as of 2021, resulting in fewer available men for Ukraine to call up for military service. A military struggling to man its existing posts is in no position to expend thousands of men in a losing battle.

This is not to say that Ukraine must immediately leave the city or that Russia is dominating the battlefield. The advancements Russia has made have often been vastly different from what we have come to expect from modern warfare. Instead of rolling columns of tanks and other armored vehicles, Russian troops attempt to slip through Ukrainian lines on light, fast vehicles, like motorcycles.

These vehicles are especially vulnerable to attacks by Ukrainian FPV drones due to their lack of armor. Consisting of often nothing more than a basic, civilian quadcopter drone and some sort of explosive, FPV drones have allowed Ukraine to maintain a defense of the city. After the explosive is attached, the drone simply needs to be flown by a remote operator directly into its target, where it detonates to fatal effect. These strikes have allowed Ukraine to delay Russia’s advances with minimal danger to its own troops.

A cautious and measured fighting retreat would allow the Armed Forces to withdraw their troops before the advancing Russian army surrounds their position. Most importantly, Ukraine already has a prepared defensive line to the west of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s “fortress belt,” consisting of the cities of Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka in Donetsk, has been transformed into a multilayered fortified line from which the Armed Forces of Ukraine could defend.

This maneuver would keep the fighting out in the open, where Ukraine can most effectively utilize its drone capabilities and the advancing Russian forces have fewer places to hide. This would also help Ukraine avoid yet another costly urban battle, which they are all but certain to ultimately lose, while further degrading their already limited manpower and worsening their position in the conflict.

James Heins is a junior majoring in political science.

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.