Intense fighting erupted on Tuesday in the devastated city of Pokrovsk, a key transport and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for control of the strategic site that Moscow has sought to capture for more than a year.
Ukraine’s military said heavy clashes were ongoing in parts of Pokrovsk vital to Kyiv’s frontline logistics, with special forces reinforcements and additional weapons deployed to the area. The army described the situation as “fierce but under control,” emphasizing efforts to stabilize defensive lines.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he visited troops near Pokrovsk and in the nearby town of Dobropillia, where Ukrainian forces are attempting a counteroffensive. Writing on Telegram, Zelenskyy said commanders reported progress in “stabilizing the defensive line and coordinating with adjacent units,” adding that emphasis was placed on strengthening defenses and ensuring soldiers are properly supplied.
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its troops had cleared 35 buildings of Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk and were also encircling Ukrainian units near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, around 160 kilometers to the north. The claims could not be independently verified.
A Ukrainian military spokesperson denied reports of encirclement in Pokrovsk, telling Interfax-Ukraine on Monday that “not a single unit” was surrounded in the sector.
Now in its fourth year, the war remains largely stalemated. Russia asserts that it maintains the initiative along most of the 1,000-kilometer front line, though it has not seized a major city since capturing Avdiivka in early 2024.
Kyiv maintains that its losses have been minimal and that Russian advances remain limited and costly.
The Ukrainian mapping project DeepState reported on Tuesday that Russian forces had advanced deeper into Pokrovsk and nearby areas, though much of the city remains contested.
“The situation remains critical,” the group said, noting that Russian troops were entrenching positions in southern districts and that at least one nearby settlement had likely fallen.
Pre-war Pokrovsk had a population of about 60,000, but most civilians fled months ago. Military analysts say capturing the city could allow Moscow to mount an offensive toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, Ukraine’s remaining strongholds in the Donetsk region, a key objective in Russia’s bid to control all of Donbas.
Russian military blogger Rybar said Moscow’s forces were “gradually expanding control” in Pokrovsk but warned that “a complete clearing of the city is still far off.”
With neither side showing signs of retreat, Pokrovsk has become the latest symbol of the grinding urban warfare and attrition defining the conflict’s eastern front.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
