Russia has declared it controls Pokrovsk, but Kyiv says Ukrainian forces still hold the northern sector of the strategic eastern city, where heavy urban fighting continues.
Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps reported that Russian troops launched an unusually large mechanised push earlier in the day. The unit said convoys of armoured vehicles, cars and motorcycles—about 30 vehicles in total—advanced from the south toward the northern part of the city, the largest such formation seen inside Pokrovsk to date. Until now, Russian incursions inside the town had typically involved only one or two vehicles at a time.
Video circulated by the 7th Corps showed heavy vehicles stuck in snow and mud, explosions, burning wreckage and drone strikes against Russian positions. The Ukrainians said the attackers tried to take advantage of rain and fog but were driven back.
Kyiv maintains its troops retain control of the city’s northern neighborhoods despite Moscow’s claim of full capture. Russian forces have for months probed and pushed into Pokrovsk in small infantry groups as part of a broader drive to seize industrial areas of the Donbas. Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskii warned the situation around Pokrovsk remains difficult, noting Moscow has concentrated roughly 156,000 troops in the area and has been building up forces under cover of poor weather.
Analysts say Moscow is emphasising any gains in Pokrovsk to present advances as inevitable. George Barros, who leads the Russia team at the Institute for the Study of War, warned that Russian messaging is being amplified and echoed by some participants in a US-led peace proposal. The Kremlin has also increased information operations to portray military and economic resilience amid a war of attrition.
The push toward Pokrovsk has come at a substantial material cost for Russia. Analysts estimate Russian losses in the Pokrovsk area since the October 2023 offensive around nearby Avdiivka exceed 1,000 armoured vehicles and more than 500 tanks; Avdiivka itself fell to Russian forces in early 2024 after intense combat.
Separately, US President Donald Trump said he exchanged strong words with the leaders of France, Britain and Germany about Ukraine and warned that weekend talks on a proposed US peace plan risked wasting time. The initial US proposal, widely seen as accommodating many of Moscow’s demands, drew criticism from Kyiv and European partners and has since been revised. Ukrainian officials said they had sent an updated draft of the plan back to Washington.