Russian forces gain foothold in strategic Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops are making consistent progress in eastern Ukraine and gaining a foothold in the strategic center of Pokrovsk.

Zelensky added that Moscow’s troops outnumber Kiev in the region 8-1 and that Ukraine cannot match that, and emphasized that Russia has not yet “achieved the planned result.”

Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk for two years. The key supply and transportation hub delivers supplies and reinforcements to the eastern front, which will bring Moscow closer to occupying the entire Donetsk region.

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

Zelensky said drone images showed that there were approximately 200 Russian soldiers in 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 Russian Chief of General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, that Ukrainian troops were completely surrounded.

In an update on Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry said its forces had surrounded Ukrainian troops around the main train station and cleared the city’s Troyanda area of ​​Ukrainian forces.

Artem Pribylnov, a soldier from Ukraine’s 155th Brigade, rejected the claim that Ukrainian troops were surrounded in a “cauldron” in Pokrovsk.

“But warfare has changed and is now very technological,” he said.

He said that in previous attacks there were exit routes from the cauldron for troops to enter and exit, but now drones control the access points, making it “extremely dangerous”.

“Maybe that’s why the Russians claim to have surrounded Pokrovsk, even if there was no physical siege of the city?” he suggested.

According to Captain Hryhoriy Shapoval, spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern operational group, 79 attacks have been repelled near Pokrovsk since Monday; this is almost a third of the total 218 attacks recorded across the entire frontline.

He said Russian troops concentrated large numbers of soldiers and equipment near Pokrovsk and used armored vehicles to protect their infantry.

“That’s why it’s hard to stop them,” he said.

He added that Kiev troops normally use drones to thwart Russian advances, but foggy and rainy weather conditions make it difficult to detect and destroy infantry units.

The situation in and around Pokrovsk is an example of the high cost of shifting the front line forward even a few meters.

Last week, Ukrainian media reported that Russian forces engaged in street fighting and targeted Ukrainian positions, including drone operators.

Away from the towns, drone technology means both Russian and Ukrainian forces can strike each other deep on either side of the front line.

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

Kiev’s defense 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 140 billion euros of Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine; It was a move that required complex legal machinations and was blocked by Belgium at last week’s EU summit. The proposal will be discussed again in December.

Zelensky said he told his European counterparts that “even though Ukraine will not go to war for decades… you need to show that you can provide stable financial support to Ukraine for a while.”

The Ukrainian president also said he hoped Thursday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would result in China’s decision to cut its support for Russia.

Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two major oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and called on Turkey and China to halt purchases of Russian oil in an attempt to put economic pressure on the Kremlin.

“I think it could be one of the following [Trump’s] Zelensky told reporters earlier this week that strong moves could be made if China is ready to reduce imports from Russia, especially after this decisive sanctions step.