Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Russia said on Saturday that its defence forces kept gaining ground in tough battles near the important towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk and seized a small village in eastern Ukraine.
As reported by European media, Russian forces seem close to capturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. Experts say this would be a significant win for President Vladimir Putin, who has sought this goal for 21 months at a high cost. Fighting in the city has escalated in recent days after Russian troops successfully entered it.
How close are Russian forces to capturing Pokrovsk?
The Russian Defence Ministry reported on Telegram that its forces have taken Vovche, located in the southeast corner of the Dnipropetrovsk region. According to Ukrainian census data, the village had a population of 13 in 2001.
In the Donetsk region, Russia claimed it continued to make gains in house-by-house fighting in the important town of Pokrovsk and nearby Myrnohrad. Russia, referring to the towns by their Soviet-era names of Krasnoarmeisk and Dmitrov, stated that both are encircled.
The ministry also mentioned that its forces are making progress in Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, asserting that Ukrainian units are also surrounded.
What tactics are Russian troops using in eastern Ukraine?
According to reports, Russia has been threatening Pokrovsk for over a year. Instead of launching full-frontal assaults like it did in earlier battles, such as the bloody campaign for Bakhmut, Russia’s military is using a pincer movement to gradually surround Pokrovsk and threaten Ukrainian supply lines.
Russian forces harass Ukrainian troops by sending in small units and drones to disrupt logistics and create chaos behind their lines before deploying larger reinforcements.
Why is Pokrovsk considered a strategic objective for Russia?
Russia aims to take the entire Donbas region, which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, as Ukraine still holds about 10% of Donbas, covering roughly 5,000 square km mainly in northern Donetsk, reports say.
If Russian forces capture Pokrovsk, known as “the gateway to Donetsk” in Russian media, along with Kostiantynivka to its northeast, they could move north toward the two largest cities still held by Ukraine in Donetsk, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. This would mark Moscow’s most significant territorial gain in Ukraine since it seized the devastated city of Avdiivka in early 2024.
