Russia announced on Thursday that it had taken control of Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, calling it a major step forward in its push across the Donbas region. President Vladimir Putin praised the victory in a pre-recorded TV message that aired as he crossed a newly rebuilt bridge. His comments came a few days after Defence Minister Andrei Belousov declared the city captured, and after Russian military channels shared a video of a soldier raising the Russian flag on a local government building. Reuters noted that it wasn’t able to verify any of the footage from either side.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back on the Russian announcement on Tuesday, saying it was too early to confirm, though he did acknowledge that Ukrainian troops had moved to new positions. Russian military bloggers reported that the last Ukrainian units had already withdrawn. Ukrainian officials described the city as almost completely destroyed. A Reuters team stationed nearby saw empty streets, a damaged high-rise building, and a university with its roof blown apart.
Before the war, Pokrovsk had more than 60,000 residents and served as an important railway hub in the coal-rich Donbas region. Russia has been fighting to take the area since mid-2024, partly because it includes some of Europe’s largest coking coal deposits. Ukraine has warned that Moscow may now try to advance further north toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, which remain key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk. At this point, Russian forces control about 19% of Ukraine—roughly one percentage point more than two years ago.
Analysts in Ukraine and abroad say the fall of the city could open the door to a new Russian push. Russia has already started clearing operations and claims it has encircled around 2,000 Ukrainian troops, though Ukraine maintains that only small groups were still there. Russia also said it captured nearby Vovchansk, but that, too, has not been independently verified.
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Source: REUTERS
