Ukraine’s military said about 300 Russian soldiers were now inside Pokrovsk and that Moscow had intensified efforts to get more troops in over the past few days, using dense fog for cover from drones. It said Ukrainian forces were battling Russian groups in the city.
While Reuters was able to confirm the location of the video as Pokrovsk, it was unable to independently verify the date the footage was filmed.Credit: Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that the situation in Pokrovsk remained difficult and that the inclement weather was favouring Russia’s attacks, the scale of which he said was increasing.
In a sign of the intensity of the urban battle, Russia said it had taken 256 buildings and that its forces were actively advancing to the northwest and east of Pokrovsk and around the railway station.
Moscow and Kyiv have given different accounts of the battle for Pokrovsk: Moscow has for days said the city is encircled while Kyiv has denied Russia controls the city and said on Monday that it was still able to supply neighbouring Myrnohrad.
Open-source battlefield maps from both sides show that Russia has executed a pincer movement around the city and was close to closing it, though Kyiv has counter-attacked around the town of Dobropillia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, met with servicemen near Pokrovsk last week.Credit: AP
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, in an interview with the New York Post, said Russia was concentrating about 150,000 troops in a drive to capture Pokrovsk, with mechanised groups and marine brigades part of the push.
Russia said its forces had taken full control of the eastern part of Kupiansk in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. A Russian commander – who gave his call sign as “Hunter” – said his forces had taken control of an oil depot on the eastern edge of Kupiansk.
In a video statement issued by Russia’s Defence Ministry, he said his forces had also taken control of a series of train stops along the railway to Kupiansk Vuzlovyi, a settlement which is about six kilometres south of the centre of Kupiansk itself.
Russia also said its troops had taken control of the settlement of Novouspenivske in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine withdrew from some villages including Novouspenivske due to intense attacks involving more than 400 artillery strikes per day, RBC-Ukraine news agency cited a military spokesperson as saying.
In a post on social media after speaking to his top military commander, Zelensky also said that Moscow was increasing its assaults in Zaporizhzhia.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports from either side due to reporting restrictions and the danger of the war zone.
Russia’s military says it now controls more than 19 per cent of Ukraine – about116,000 square kilometres. Ukrainian maps tracking frontline changes show Russian control at 19.1 per cent of Ukraine, up from 18 per cent nearly three years ago.
