A photograph from Pokrovsk, published by journalist Arkadiy Babchenko on Facebook, sparked a heated discussion on social media. The picture, taken on August 7, 2025, shows large flowerbeds of red roses that miraculously survived and bloomed beautifully against the backdrop of a city shattered by Russian attacks. This was reported by 'Glavkom' citing Babchenko's post.
Babchenko noted that Pokrovsk, which used to have a population of 60,000, has become extremely sparsely populated and battered by Russian actions. Among the ruins, he stated, 'huge flowerbeds of red and pink roses... oddly enough, survived and bloomed after all the bombardments.'
The photograph provoked a wave of outrage among users. People expressed deep dissatisfaction in the comments, blaming local authorities for prioritizing beautification over security.
Dmytro Bylya wrote: 'If instead of defense, we make flowerbeds, this is what happens.' A similar opinion was voiced by Olha Yakymets: 'These flowerbeds are a mute reproach to the authorities, who instead of fortifying, destroyed flowerbeds and paved sidewalks while the enemy approached the city.'
Other comments also emphasize this dissonance. Andriy Aleksandrovich sarcastically noted: 'So, it's no wonder the budget was spent on flowerbeds instead of fortifications. Powerful and unyielding.' And Larysa Romanenko called the flowers 'grave flowers': 'So why did the city council plant them instead of defensive fortifications? These are grave flowers....'
User Syriy Vovk summarized the general dissatisfaction: 'This is why Pokrovsk is torn apart, because local authorities, instead of throwing all their efforts into building defenses at the distant approaches to the city, were planting these roses last year with the hands of municipal workers. I myself witnessed this absurdity and was horrified.'
As Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, told 'Glavkom' in an interview, no state funds are being spent in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, to plant flowers in flowerbeds. He stated this while commenting on a scandalous video featuring flowerbeds near the frontline. In that video, a military officer criticized the local authorities of Pokrovsk for planting. He stated that the enemy is 20 km away and instead of planting flowers, trenches need to be dug.
'I saw that video of the military. But the next morning after the release of the video, the deputy commander of his brigade called me and apologized. You see, there are some bloggers among the military, they shoot videos, they need resonance, they need to stir up the Donetsk region, to gather negativity, to persuade others that the authorities are bad, that they are not doing fortifications, or anything at all. Well, there is such a category of people who only criticize,' Filashkin stated.
The OVA head emphasized that the flowers planted in flowerbeds were grown by a municipal enterprise, which means that state funds were not spent on them.
Recall that in July, a lot of fuss was made about the story of the breakthrough of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups into Pokrovsk. According to analysts from DeepState, a total of 150 Russian saboteurs were involved in the operation. The goal of the action was to create panic and force the Defense Forces units to flee the city, as it happened in Selydove. It is claimed that the sabotage groups departed from Selydove, which has been under Russian occupation since October last year. To get from Selydove to Pokrovsk, the saboteurs needed 14 days. The direct distance between the cities is 14 km, but the saboteurs apparently did not travel in a straight line.
The situation in the Pokrovsk direction has been the toughest during the last year. It is key for the Russians, including in this summer campaign. However, as of now, it is probably even harder than it was at any previous period because the Russians have sent a massive crowd of people.
On August 14, it became known that the Defense Forces of Ukraine managed to improve the situation in the Pokrovsk direction.