Overview
- Russia’s defense ministry declared Ukrainian units in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk encircled and urged them to surrender, framing their situation as hopeless.
- Ukrainian commanders rejected the claim as false, with soldiers describing worsening street fighting and a fluid front where neither side holds steady control.
- Russian advances have relied on pincer movements, small mobile groups, and drone strikes designed to disrupt logistics and erode defenses.
- Ukraine has conducted helicopter-borne special-forces missions, including flights using Black Hawk helicopters to reopen supply routes, while Russia asserts it repelled one landing.
- Battlefield maps show Russian forces close to completing a ring around Pokrovsk and holding substantial ground in Kupiansk, and analysts say Pokrovsk’s loss would strain Ukrainian logistics and strengthen Moscow’s bargaining hand.