Russian troops capture and destroy some Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk

Russian troops destroyed or captured several Ukrainian positions near the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Kiev’s military said on Wednesday, as Moscow closed in on the strategic logistics hub that hosts a unique Ukrainian coke mine.

After months of accelerating advances toward Pokrovsk, Moscow’s forces are now just three kilometers from the city’s southern outskirts, according to Ukraine’s DeepState, which maps the front lines using open sources.

“As a result of prolonged clashes, two of our positions were destroyed, one was lost. Currently, measures are being taken to restore the positions,” said Nazar Voloshyn, Ukraine’s military spokesman on the Eastern Front, in televised commentary.

The fall of Pokrovsk, an important logistics center for the Ukrainian army, would be the biggest military setback for Kiev in months. The city is also home to a mine that is Ukraine’s only domestic supplier of coking coal for its former steel industry.

of Ukraine the top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyihe said he had visited a marine unit in the Pokrovsk sector and noted the conditions the military faced against “a superior enemy, primarily, in terms of manpower.”

“Unconventional decisions must be made to improve the resilience of our defense and ensure more effective destruction of occupiers,” he wrote on Facebook, without mentioning when the visit took place.

“The battles are exceptionally fierce. The Russian occupiers are bringing forward all available forces, trying to break through the defenses of our troops.”

Months of fierce fighting

Pokrovsk, located about 18 kilometers from the border of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, has for months been the site of some of the fiercest battles of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 33 months ago.

In October and November, the Russian army advanced on the city at its fastest pace since the first months of the war, analysts said. Ukraine says Russia has suffered some of the worst losses of the war so far.

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Both Ukraine and Russia are eyeing the growing prospect of pushing for peace talks with US President-elect Donald Trump. preparing to take office on January 20, after calling for an immediate ceasefire and a quick end to the war.

Kiev has urged its allies to get him into the strongest possible position on the battlefield before talks take place.

Russia, which Ukraine says has more than 70,000 troops on the Pokrovsk front, has been rapidly advancing on Shevchenko, a village south of Pokrovsk, in recent weeks.

Their forces are trying to gain a foothold in the village and are sending reconnaissance and sabotage groups, spokesman Voloshyn said. Ukraine is holding them back for now, he added.

The coal mine, which was still operating as of December 6, is located 10 kilometers west of Pokrovsk, on the far side of where Russian troops have advanced.