Russia said on Monday its troops had advanced further into the ruins of Pokrovsk, a key transport and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv insisted its forces were holding firm amid fierce urban fighting.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its soldiers had surrounded Ukrainian formations near Pokrovsk’s railway station and industrial zone, and entered the city’s Prigorodny district, where they had reportedly dug in.
Moscow said its troops were destroying what it described as “encircled” Ukrainian units.
Ukraine, however, denied the claims. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Pokrovsk remained under heavy Russian pressure but that his forces had prevented further enemy advances in the past 24 hours.
“Up to 300 Russian servicemen remain in the city, but they have not moved forward,” Zelenskiy told reporters.
He also warned that Russia was massing new forces near the nearby town of Dobropillia, where Ukrainian troops achieved limited gains earlier this year.
“The situation in Dobropillia is complicated,” he said. “Russia has lost the initiative there but continues to reinforce its troops.”
Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said his forces had increased pressure on Dobropillia to force Russia to divert attention away from Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian military stressed that Russian forces did not control any entire district of the city.
“The invaders continue to attack in small groups of up to five soldiers, without using armored vehicles,” Ukraine’s eastern task force said on Facebook.
The 7th Rapid Response Corps added that it had repelled an attempt by Russian troops to cut off a key supply route from Rodynske, north of Pokrovsk.
Reuters said it could not independently verify battlefield reports from either side.
Pokrovsk, once home to about 60,000 people, has been largely destroyed and abandoned after months of bombardment.
Capturing it would hand Moscow a vital springboard toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-held cities in the Donetsk region, which Russia has vowed to seize in full.
If Pokrovsk falls, it would mark Russia’s most significant territorial gain since its forces captured Avdiivka in early 2024 after one of the war’s bloodiest battles.
Now in its fourth year, the war has settled into a grinding stalemate across a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line. Russia continues to make incremental advances, while Ukraine says the losses are minor and the front largely stable.
No face-to-face peace talks have taken place since July, despite attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to restart negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Russia said it had carried out heavy overnight airstrikes on Ukrainian military targets, including an airfield, an equipment repair base, defense-industrial facilities, and supporting gas infrastructure.
Moscow also claimed to have pushed Ukrainian forces out of four fortified positions in the industrial zone of Kupiansk, another eastern city.
Zelenskyy said around 60 Russian soldiers remained in Kupiansk, with Ukrainian troops working to clear them. Military spokesman Viktor Trehubov said Russian attempts to seize the city center had failed and that Ukrainian counterattacks were slowing Moscow’s advance.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
