Russian forces gain foothold in strategic Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk

Russian troops are making a concerted push in eastern Ukraine and have gained a foothold in the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.

Moscow’s soldiers outnumber Kyiv’s 8-1 in the area and Ukraine cannot match that, Zelensky added while insisting Russia had not yet “achieved the planned result”.

Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk for two years. The key supply and transport hub provides supplies and reinforcements to the eastern front – and it would get Moscow closer to occupying the entirety of the Donetsk region.

It would also put towns of the heavily fortified “fortress belt” – Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka – within easier reach of Moscow.

Zelensky said drone imagery showed that around 200 Russian soldiers were inside Pokrovsk.

Describing the situation as “difficult”, he said earlier that there was widespread fierce fighting and “sabotage groups” had entered the town.

However, he rejected reports by Russia’s Chief of General Staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, that Ukrainian troops had been completely surrounded.

In an update on Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had encircled Ukrainian troops around the main railway station and cleared the city’s Troyanda district of Ukrainian forces.

One soldier from Ukraine’s 155th Brigade, Artem Pribylnov, rejected the notion that Ukrainian troops had been encircled in a “cauldron” at Pokrovsk.

“But the war has changed and it’s very technological now,” he said.

In previous assaults there had been a path out of the cauldron that troops could drive in and out of, he said, but now drones controlled access points, which made it “extremely dangerous”.

“Perhaps that’s why Russians claim they’ve encircled Pokrovsk even if there is no physical encirclement of the city?” he suggested.

According to Capt Hryhoriy Shapoval, spokesperson of Ukraine’s East operational group, 79 attacks had been repelled near Pokrovsk since Monday – almost a third of the total 218 assaults recorded across the entire front line.

He said that Russian troops had concentrated a large number of troops and equipment near Pokrovsk and that they were using armoured vehicles to cover their infantry.

“So it’s hard to stop them,” he said.

He added that Kyiv’s troops normally used drones to counter the Russians’ advance but foggy and rainy weather conditions had made it harder to detect and destroy infantry troops.

The situation in and around Pokrovsk exemplifies the high cost of shifting the front line forward, even just by a few metres.

Last week, Ukrainian media reported that Russian forces were engaging in street battles and targeting Ukrainian positions, including drone operators.

Away from the towns, drone technology means both Russian and Ukrainian forces are able to pound one another deep on either side of the front line.

Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 is almost into its fifth year. Moscow’s troops currently occupy about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Kyiv’s defence capabilities are shrinking and Zelensky has said Ukraine needs financial support from its European allies to continue fighting Russian forces for another two or three years.

European leaders have so far failed to divert €140bn worth of Russian frozen assets to Ukraine – a move which would require complex legal machinations and which was blocked by Belgium at an EU summit last week. The proposal will be revisited in December.

Zelensky said he had told his European counterparts that while Ukraine was “not going to fight for decades… you must show that for some time you will be able to provide stable financial support to Ukraine”.

The Ukrainian president also said he hoped a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday would result in a decision by China to cut its support for Russia.

Last week Trump slapped Lukoil and Rosneft – two major Russian oil companies – with sanctions, and urged Turkey and China to halt purchases of Russian oil in a bid to put economic pressure on the Kremlin.

“I think this may be one of [Trump’s] strong moves, especially if, following this decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports” from Russia, Zelensky told journalists earlier this week.