Overview
- Independent reporting says Russian forces have encircled Pokrowsk on three sides, leaving roughly a 15-kilometre corridor for Ukrainian resupply.
- Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi denies Russian control or a completed encirclement and outlines coordinated defense focused on logistics, protected routes and medical evacuation.
- Russian units are exploiting dense fog that hampers Ukrainian drone reconnaissance while increasing troop deployments and using drones and mortars to disrupt supplies.
- The Institute for the Study of War assesses the advance has slowed but warns the city could still fall in the near term.
- Local authorities and media report the town is largely depopulated, with up to 95 percent of residents having fled amid intense fighting.