Russian forces edge closer to key Ukrainian city as Putin faces ‘massive cost’
Russian forces are just miles away from the key Eastern city
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fighting around the key Ukraine city of Pokrovsk is “extremely intense” after a monthslong Russian push, Ukraine’s top military commander has said.
The warning comes as analysts estimated Russian forces are now within just a few kilometers (miles) of the important city.
Ukrainian troops repelled nearly 40 Russian attempts to storm defenses around Pokrovsk over the previous 24 hours, the General Staff said in a battlefield report Thursday.
“Russian occupiers are throwing all available forces forward, attempting to break through the defenses of our troops,” Ukrainian army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said. His forces are outnumbered, he added.
Ukraine’s stretched defenses in Donetsk have been creaking since early this year under a fierce Russian drive to capture its neighbor’s entire eastern Donbas region. Russian forces are trying to overwhelm Ukraine’s battlefield defenses with sheer numbers of troops and powerful glide bombs that blast fortifications to smithereens.
Latest from Ukraine
Powered by Bulletin
- Russia warned its citizens against traveling to the West, particularly the US, due to escalating tensions.
- Fierce fighting intensified near Pokrovsk, with Ukrainian forces losing ground.
- Russia might deploy its new Oreshnik missile in Ukraine soon, though the US downplays its impact.
- Two women were rescued from the rubble after a Russian missile strike on a Zaporizhzhia clinic.
- Finland blocked Russian property acquisitions citing national security concerns.
- Follow our live blog.
Pokrovsk, which had a population of about 60,000 before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defensive abilities and supply routes and would bring Russia closer to its stated goal of seizing the entire Donetsk region.
But Ukraine’s dogged resistance and Western military aid have rendered the gains costly for the Kremlin in losses of troops and armor.
A major worry for the Kyiv government is that tens of billions of dollars of key U.S. military support to hold Russia at bay may dry up under President-elect Donald Trump.
The Institute for the Study of War estimated late Wednesday that Russian forces have moved to within about 6 kilometers (just under 4 miles) of Pokrovsk, approaching from the south.
The Donetsk operation has had “a massive cost” for Russian forces, the Washington-based think tank said. Those losses “will temper their ability to translate these gains into more far-reaching offensive operations” in the months ahead, it said.
Though the Russian push has been slow moving, it has recently accelerated in Donetsk and compelled Ukrainian defenders to make localized retreats. Major battlefield victories have eluded the Russians.
Ukrainian media have reported tensions between Ukraine’s commanders as the military pressure has built. Unconfirmed reports said Syrskyi, the military chief, had personally taken charge of some brigades around Pokrovsk.
A renowned Ukrainian military officer, Serhii Filimonov, commander of the “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion of the 59th Motorized Brigade, described Pokrovsk’s defense as a “disaster.”
Senior officers are placing “unrealistic” demands on units and are unfamiliar with circumstances on the front line, Filimonov wrote on his Telegram channel this week.