Pokrovsk, once home to 60,000, is largely destroyed; its capture could enable Russian advances toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk
Moscow
Fierce fighting continues in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk as Russia claims fresh advances while Ukraine insists its defenders are holding firm. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had entered parts of the city, including the Prigorodny area, and were targeting Ukrainian units near the railway station and industrial zones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged that Pokrovsk remains under “severe pressure,” but said no significant Russian progress was recorded in the past 24 hours. He added that Moscow was sending reinforcements toward Dobropillia, a nearby town where Ukraine had made gains earlier this year.
Ukraine’s military reported that Russian troops were attacking in small groups without armored vehicles, and claimed they had thwarted an attempt to cut off a vital supply route from Rodynske. Ukrainian forces said Russia does not control any full district of Pokrovsk.
Pokrovsk, once home to around 60,000 people, has been largely destroyed after more than a year of battle. Its capture could allow Russian forces to advance toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two key Ukrainian-held cities in the Donetsk region.
If Russia takes Pokrovsk, it would mark its most significant gain since seizing Avdiivka in early 2024. The war, now in its fourth year, has seen few territorial changes, with both sides blaming each other for the stalemate.
Meanwhile, Moscow said its forces struck Ukrainian military sites overnight and advanced near Kupiansk, though Ukraine reported pushing back Russian troops still in the area.
BOX
RUSSIA vs UKRAIN
* Russia claims that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a vital transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year. However, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy debunked the claim, saying Pokrovsk remained under severe pressure though Russian troops had made no gains in the past day.
* Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps say Ukrainian forces had thwarted a Russian attempt to cut off a supply route to Pokrovsk from Rodynske, to the north. However, Russia claims its troops has attacked Ukrainian forces near another eastern city, Kupiansk, and dislodged them from four fortified positions in the industrial zone on the left bank of the Oskol River.
* Zelenskyy says up to 60 Russian soldiers remained in Kupiansk, and that Ukrainian forces were trying to clear them. However, the Russian Ministry of Defence states its forces had carried out heavy overnight strikes on a Ukrainian military airfield, a military equipment repair base and military-industrial facilities, as well as gas infrastructure facilities that supported them.
* Ukraine’s military states it hit an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region and a successful strike and resulting fire had been recorded on one of the refining facilities. Besides it also hit Russian military logistical facilities in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk.