Russia said on Wednesday its forces were advancing north inside the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, intensifying a months-long battle for control of the strategic hub. Ukrainian officials, however, said their troops were still resisting Russian attempts to seize new ground.
Pokrovsk, once a key transport and logistics center for Ukraine’s military, has been under heavy assault for more than a year. Moscow views the city as a gateway to capturing the remaining parts of the Donbas industrial region — about 10% of Ukraine’s territory — that remain under Kyiv’s control.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its assault groups were destroying Ukrainian units trapped in several parts of the city while pushing northward. It said its troops had cleared settlements southeast of Pokrovsk and repelled Ukrainian efforts to break through.
Ukraine denied reports of encirclement, saying its forces were blocking Russian attempts to dig in and secure supply routes around the area.
“Active countermeasures are being taken against enemy infantry groups trying to gain a foothold,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that Pokrovsk remained under “severe pressure” but said Russian troops had made no significant advances. He added that roughly 300 Russian soldiers were still inside the city.
In response, Russia’s Defence Ministry accused Zelenskyy of “concealing the dire situation” for Ukrainian forces, claiming its troops had trapped Kyiv’s soldiers in “cauldrons” around Pokrovsk and Kupiansk.
Reuters could not independently verify claims from either side due to limited battlefield access.
Analysts say Russia’s current strategy differs from previous frontal assaults, instead relying on pincer movements to encircle Ukrainian troops while drones and small mobile units target logistics routes behind the front.
Open-source battlefield maps indicate Russian forces are close to fully encircling Pokrovsk and control large parts of nearby Kupiansk.
Pokrovsk, once home to about 60,000 residents, is now largely deserted after widespread evacuations and destruction from months of shelling.
Beyond Donbas, Russia has reported incremental territorial gains in Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Both Ukrainian and Russian military maps suggest Moscow now controls roughly 19% of Ukrainian territory — an increase of about one percentage point compared to two years ago.
