Overview
- Russia's defense ministry says assault units captured dozens of buildings in the past day in Pokrovsk and inflicted heavy Ukrainian losses, claims that cannot be independently verified.
- Kyiv reports fierce street fighting inside the city, denies a full encirclement, and says its forces are hunting infiltrators after President Volodymyr Zelensky put the number of Russian soldiers inside at 314.
- Ukrainian commanders describe a grim picture of block‑to‑block combat, with one estimating Russian control exceeds 70% and warning there are no firm defensive lines inside the city.
- Pokrovsk is a key rail and logistics node in Donetsk, and its fall would be Russia's largest urban capture since Bakhmut and could open approaches toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
- Analysts say attrition is severe for both sides, and the battle's outcome is being leveraged to sway U.S. policy, with Moscow and Kyiv seeking to shape President Donald Trump's view of the war.