Overview
- Russian forces have pushed into much of the city, with heavy street fighting reported across numerous districts.
- Ukraine says it inserted a helicopter-borne commando to reopen supply and evacuation routes to Pokrowsk and nearby Myrnohrad.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry claims the 11-member team was wiped out and parts of the city are encircled, a claim Ukrainian intelligence denies as it says the mission continues.
- Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyj calls it a "complex operation" to destroy and expel Russian units as Kyiv increases troop numbers in the sector.
- Kyiv warns journalists against accepting Russian corridor offers, while officials and analysts cite severe infantry shortages and steep force-ratio imbalances straining the defense.