Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers continues in the ruins of Pokrovskoye, a transport and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine that Moscow has been trying to capture for more than a year.
The Ukrainian military said heavy fighting was taking place in a part of the city, which is crucial for Kiev's frontline logistics, and that additional special forces had arrived there, as well as more weapons and equipment being sent.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had cleared 35 buildings of Ukrainian soldiers. It also said Russian forces were tightening their grip on Ukrainian units near the town of Kupyansk, in the Kharkiv region, about 160 kilometers to the north.
Reuters could not confirm reports of the situation on the front lines. Ukraine has denied that its troops are surrounded in any of the locations.
While peace talks on the war, now well into its fourth year, remain stalled, Russia claims to have the initiative on all parts of the front, although it has not captured a single major city since the capture of Avdiivka in early 2024. Ukraine, on the other hand, claims that the fighting is largely at a stalemate and that its territorial losses are minimal.
The Ukrainian DeepState project, which maps the front line based on verified sources and open data, showed that Russian forces have advanced deeper into Pokrovsk and its surroundings, although most of the area is still marked in gray - as territory not under firm control of either side.
Pokrovsk had a population of around 60.000 before the war, but most civilians have long since fled.
The capture of Pokrovsk, which Russian media call the "gates of Donetsk," as well as Kostyantynivka to its northeast, which Russian forces are also trying to encircle, would allow Moscow to advance northward, towards the two largest cities in Donetsk Oblast that are still under Ukrainian control - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
It would also give Moscow its most significant territorial gain in Ukraine since the capture of the devastated city of Avdiivka in early 2024.
Some Western military analysts, such as Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the US Foreign Policy Research Institute, believe that capturing Pokrovsk would represent an important victory for Russia, especially if it manages to achieve it by the end of the year.
Russian military blogger Ribar announced yesterday that Russian control over Pokrovskoye is gradually expanding, but that "the complete cleansing of the city is still far away."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Monday that Pokrovsk was under great pressure, but the Ukrainian military said Russian troops had not yet fully taken control of any of the city's districts.
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