Russian forces are intensifying their assault on Pokrovsk, a key logistics and transport hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, aiming to secure one of their most significant battlefield gains since early 2024.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that its troops were advancing inside Pokrovsk, destroying encircled Ukrainian units and repelling breakout attempts. Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, countered that Kyiv’s forces were holding their ground despite Russia’s overwhelming manpower — estimated at over 100,000 troops in the area.
Why Pokrovsk Matters
Before the war, Pokrovsk was home to about 60,000 people and served as a critical rail and road junction for Ukrainian forces. The city lies near Ukraine’s only active coking coal mine and has long been central to supplying Ukrainian positions across Donetsk. Today, it is mostly destroyed, its population evacuated, and its infrastructure shattered by relentless shelling.
Russian media have dubbed Pokrovsk the “gateway to Donetsk.” If captured, the city would allow Moscow to push north toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk — Ukraine’s two remaining strongholds in the Donbas — and solidify Russia’s control of nearly the entire Donetsk region, which President Vladimir Putin claims as part of Russia.
A Grinding Campaign
Unlike earlier large-scale assaults, such as the devastating battle for Bakhmut, Russia’s offensive on Pokrovsk has been characterized by a slow, encircling advance designed to cut Ukrainian supply routes and exhaust defenders.
Small Russian assault groups and drones have harassed Ukrainian logistics lines, while larger units move in behind them.
Ukraine says Russian forces are suffering steep losses, while Moscow insists that its attritional approach minimizes casualties. Kyiv’s counterattacks, including operations near Dobropillia to the southwest, aim to stretch Russian lines and relieve pressure on the city.
The Current Situation
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged on Sunday that Pokrovsk remains a brutal and pivotal front. “There is fierce fighting in the city and on its approaches,” he said. “Logistics are difficult, but we must continue to destroy the occupiers.”
DeepState, a Ukrainian project mapping battlefield developments, shows Russian troops making incremental gains inside Pokrovsk but without full control of any district. Ukraine’s forces reportedly still hold much of the city, though supply lines are under severe strain.
Strategic Implications
Military analysts, including Rob Lee of the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, say that taking Pokrovsk by year’s end would represent an important symbolic and tactical victory for Moscow. Still, it would leave Russian forces with major challenges ahead — particularly in breaking through Ukraine’s next defensive lines around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
For now, Pokrovsk stands as the focal point of one of the war’s most grueling battles — a fight that could determine control of the remaining Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk.
Reporting by Andrew Osborn (Moscow) and Felix Hoske (Kyiv); Editing by Gareth Jones and Peter Graff.
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