Overview
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces defeated encircled Ukrainian units near the rail hub and industrial area of Pokrovsk and reported strikes on a military airfield and industrial sites, claims Ukraine disputes.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Russia had no recent successes in the city, and commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces are reinforcing with troops, weapons, equipment and drones.
- Ukrainian media published drone footage purportedly showing soldiers disembarking from a Black Hawk helicopter in a reported air-landing to bolster Pokrovsk’s defense.
- Open-source maps from DeepState and assessments cited by ISW show Russian footholds in southern Pokrovsk and an expanding gray zone that raises supply risks and the prospect of encirclement.
- Ukraine’s Omega unit and the Atesh partisan group alleged extremely high Russian losses and claimed bodies were being stored in a Mangush meat-processing plant, assertions not independently verified.