Russia Advances in Pokrovsk as Ukraine Fights to Hold Strategic Eastern City

Russia claimed new territorial gains in the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a key transport and logistics hub under attack for over a year. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had surrounded Ukrainian troops near the city’s railway station and industrial zone, advancing into the Prigorodny district and fortifying positions there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged heavy fighting, saying Pokrovsk remained under intense pressure but that Russian troops had made no significant gains in the past 24 hours. He said around 300 Russian soldiers were still inside the city. Zelenskiy also warned that Moscow was massing troops near Dobropillia, a nearby town where Ukraine had previously made counteroffensive progress, describing the situation there as “complicated.”

Ukraine’s army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukrainian forces were increasing pressure around Dobropillia to force Russia to shift focus from Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian military confirmed that Russian troops were not in full control of any part of the city, noting that attackers were advancing in small groups of up to five soldiers, often without armored vehicles.

Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps reported halting an attempt by Russian troops to cut off a vital supply route from Rodynske, north of Pokrovsk. Before the war, Pokrovsk had around 60,000 residents, but most have fled the city’s ruins. Its capture would give Russia a strategic platform to advance toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two of the last major Ukrainian-held cities in Donetsk.

If Pokrovsk falls, it would mark Russia’s most significant victory since the capture of Avdiivka in early 2024. Peace talks remain stalled in the fourth year of the war, as Russia continues gradual advances along the 1,000-kilometer front line and carries out airstrikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.