Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces have captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk and the city of Vovchansk in Kharkiv, according to a Kremlin Telegram post on Monday. Pokrovsk, a major transportation hub in Donetsk that has been under siege for almost two years, was reported taken as Moscow circulated footage it says shows soldiers marching through streets and a Russian flag being raised.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media Gerasimov reported the “liberation” to President Vladimir Putin late on Sunday during a visit to a front-line command centre, citing TASS. Putin later congratulated the forces on the victory, using the Russian name Krasnoarmeysk and thanking the battlegroup and command, TASS reported.
Once home to about 60,000 people, Pokrovsk has been heavily bombarded in recent weeks by drones, artillery and aerial strikes, with many buildings reduced to rubble. Ukraine has not confirmed the city’s capture. Separately, Gerasimov’s statement also named Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region as seized.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with US and European leaders this week to discuss how to negotiate an end to the war. He has said a top priority is avoiding territorial concessions that would legitimise Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukraine.