Reuters and The Economist correspondent Oliver Carroll reported the information."Ukraine landed special forces to fight in embattled parts of the eastern city of Pokrovsk earlier this week... The operation shows how Ukraine is battling to stabilise the situation in the strategically important city after scores of Russian troops breached its perimeter this month," the publication says.According to an agency source in the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces, Ukrainian special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate landed a few days ago by Black Hawk helicopter as part of an operation that was complicated by the activities of Russian drones.According to another source, the operation was led by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov.Correspondent Oliver Carroll published a video on the social network X, which allegedly shows the landing of troops from a helicopter. He added that the authenticity of these videos has not yet been verified. New. Hearing Ukraine's military intelligence is conducting a daring counter-offensive near Pokrovsk to reopen key logistics lines. Videos shared with me purport to show a heli drop in areas Russia claims to hold. *Have not been able to verify vids independently. pic.twitter.com/ZGyYfjUD2S— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) October 31, 2025 What preceded this? Previously, Suspilne and Zerkalo Tyzhnia, citing sources in the Defense Forces, reported that special forces and aviation of the Main Intelligence Directorate had launched an airborne operation in Pokrovsk. According to the publications' interlocutors, Ukrainian intelligence assault troops entered areas of the city that the Russians had declared allegedly captured.Sources said that several helicopters were involved in the operation, and Budanov personally led it on the ground.On Wednesday, October 29, Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed a Russian flag that Russian troops had installed in Pokrovsk earlier that morning.On the morning of October 31, DeepState wrote that Russian forces had advanced in Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region and in several settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region.