Overview
- Frontline testimonies and open-source monitors report Russian forces inside Pokrovsk, with some Ukrainian soldiers estimating roughly 60% control, though mapping still shows extensive contested blocks.
- Ukraine’s General Staff says no units are trapped and reports ongoing special-operations actions inside the city after helicopter insertions, with President Zelenskyy visiting nearby positions.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry asserts that Ukrainian troops are surrounded, claims it repelled breakout attempts, and publicly calls on defenders to capitulate, statements Ukraine disputes and which remain unverified.
- ISW and soldiers describe a Russian approach focused on striking Ukrainian drone crews, infiltrating small groups, and disrupting logistics, forcing drone teams into ground firefights and complicating resupply.
- Analysts warn of a growing risk of encirclement and debate a controlled withdrawal, while others caution that losing the hub could open routes toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk; partisan reports of heavy Russian losses are unconfirmed.