Russian forces have pushed deeper into the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, with footage showing troops entering on motorbikes and atop battered vehicles, as fierce fighting continues despite worsening weather conditions.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the situation in Pokrovsk remained “difficult” and that bad weather was "favouring Russian attacks," which he said were increasing in both the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
In a social media post after speaking to his top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskyy added that Ukrainian troops "continue to destroy the occupiers" despite mounting pressure.
Russia said its troops had entered Pokrovsk, long dubbed "the gateway to Donetsk," and were advancing north toward the remaining Ukrainian strongholds of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Taking Pokrovsk would mark Moscow’s biggest territorial gain in the Donetsk region in nearly a year.
Russian war bloggers published videos showing soldiers riding motorbikes and clinging to the roofs of wrecked cars as they entered the fog-shrouded city.
Moscow’s Defence Ministry said its troops had seized 256 buildings in Pokrovsk and taken full control of the city’s eastern sector.
Ukrainian denial
Kiev, however, denied that Pokrovsk had fallen, insisting supply routes to nearby Myrnohrad remained open.
Ukraine’s military said about 300 Russian soldiers were now inside the city and that reinforcements were being rushed in.
Syrskyi said Russian forces were "using their numerical superiority in personnel and equipment" to capture three settlements in southeastern Zaporizhzhia.
"The situation has significantly worsened in the Oleksandrivka and Huliaipole directions," Syrskyi said, describing "exhausting battles" for two nearby villages.
Russia also claimed control of the eastern part of Kupiansk in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and the settlement of Novouspenivske in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine confirmed a tactical withdrawal from several villages following days of "massive artillery fire."
Moscow says it now controls more than 19 percent of Ukraine’s territory — around 116,000 square kilometres — while Kiev continues counteroffensive operations along the front.
