Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russian forces have taken full control of the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, but this assertion has been immediately refuted by Kyiv. For months, Russian and Ukrainian troops have engaged in brutal, house-to-house combat in what is known as a “fortress city” in eastern Ukraine. Once a crucial logistics hub for the Ukrainian military, Pokrovsk now lies in ruins, acting as a barrier between Russian forces and the remaining free territory in Donetsk.
A victory in Pokrovsk would provide significant leverage to Putin at a pivotal moment in the war, especially as a high-level delegation from Washington arrives in Moscow to discuss potential paths to peace. However, the situation remains uncertain, with no definitive outcome yet. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s 7th Air Assault Corps launched fierce attacks in the south, while units in the north held their ground.
Ukraine has consistently demonstrated resilience in resisting Putin’s relentless pressure on the Donbas region. However, the loss of a strategic center like Pokrovsk could weaken Kyiv’s position as it seeks assurances about its future. The battle for Pokrovsk has become a critical focal point in the broader conflict, with both sides recognizing its importance.
Where is Pokrovsk?
Pokrovsk is a vital road and rail junction located in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Before the war, it had a population of around 60,000 people. Today, most civilians have fled, and all children have been evacuated.
The city was once a key logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, situated along a major road used to supply other embattled outposts along the frontline. It also housed a technical university, the largest and oldest in the region, which is now abandoned and damaged by shelling.
Additionally, Ukraine’s only mine producing coking coal—essential for the country’s steel industry—is located approximately six miles (10 km) west of Pokrovsk.
Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst with the Finnish open-source intelligence organization Black Bird Group, notes that Pokrovsk no longer holds the same strategic significance as before due to the intense fighting and extensive destruction in the area.
“Currently, it’s a battlefield full of destroyed buildings. So the role of Pokrovsk is that Ukraine tries to hold on to the city so that they can keep the corridor to Myrnohrad open, to delay the Russian advance as much as possible,” he said.
Why does Russia want Pokrovsk?
Russia aims to capture the entire Donbas region, which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. Ukraine still controls about 10% of Donbas, an area of roughly 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) in western Donetsk.
President Vladimir Putin claims that Donbas is now legally part of Russia, a claim that Kyiv and most Western nations reject as an illegal land grab. Capturing Pokrovsk, referred to by Russian media as “the gateway to Donetsk,” and Kostiantynivka to its northeast, would mark Moscow’s most significant territorial gain inside Ukraine since the fall of Avdiivka in early 2024.
This would also provide Moscow with a platform to push north toward the two largest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in Donetsk: Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
However, advancing toward these cities would be “really costly and will take months and months, at least, at the current rate of advance,” said Mr. Kastehelmi. He added, “In regional warfare, there can be events where gradual events become sudden, and then something actually changes rapidly. But I don’t see that happening in the near future.”
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, believes that capturing Pokrovsk would give Russia an important operational advantage, but it would still require significant effort to take control of the rest of Donetsk.
What is happening now?
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military dismissed reports from Moscow that Russian forces had captured Pokrovsk. “The brazen statements of the leadership of the aggressor country about the ‘capture’ of these settlements by the Russian army do not correspond to reality,” Kyiv’s General Staff stated, also referring to the cities of Vovchansk and Kupiansk.
Ukrainian forces were still holding the northern part of the city and had launched attacks against Russian forces in southern Pokrovsk, according to the Ukrainian military. A video released by the Russian Defence Ministry showed troops raising the Russian flag in a square, with what sounded like artillery fire in the background. It is unclear when the video was filmed.
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