Putin claims Russian military has surrounded Ukraine metropolis dubbed ‘the gateway to Donetsk’ | EUROtoday

Russian forces have surrounded the embattled Ukrainian metropolis of Pokrovsk and management 70 per cent of it, President Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday, although Kyiv’s prime basic insisted Ukrainian defenders had been pushing again onerous amid fierce preventing within the metropolis centre.

Moscow has sought full management of Pokrovsk – identified to Russians by its Soviet-era identify, Krasnoarmeysk – since mid-2024, as a part of its broader goal to grab your complete Donbas industrial area.

Instead of a direct frontal assault on town, a former house to over 60,000 and a key Ukrainian navy logistics hub, Russian forces have employed a pincer motion. This tactic goals to steadily encircle Pokrovsk, infiltrating with small after which bigger assault teams.

Moscow says taking Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk” by Russian media, would give it a platform to drive north in the direction of the 2 largest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities within the Donetsk area – Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Pressure on town comes at a time when the United States is attempting to dealer a doable peace plan to finish the deadliest European battle since World War Two with either side keen to indicate they’ve the higher hand on the battlefield.

Map of Pokrovsk:

Speaking at a information convention in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Putin stated that Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk and the neighbouring city of Myrnohrad, which Russians calls Dimitrov, had been in serious trouble and that Ukraine would possibly face a collapse of its frontline in sure locations.

“Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) and Dimitrov (Myrnohrad) are completely surrounded,” Putin instructed reporters, saying that a few of Kyiv’s most combat-ready troops had been being destroyed within the course of.

“Seventy percent of Krasnoarmeysk’s territory is in the hands of the Russian armed forces. In the south of the city of Dimitrov, the enemy group has been cut off. It is scattered throughout the city. And our troops are moving onto its systematic destruction,” stated Putin.

The Russian Defence Ministry stated earlier on Thursday that its assault models had been advancing in central and northern Pokrovsk and that its forces had superior to the east, west and south of Myrnohrad.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s prime commander, painted a special image nevertheless, and stated on social media that Ukrainian troops had been blocking makes an attempt by Russian forces to stage new assaults on Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.

Syrskyi stated that Russia had been compelled to convey reserves forces into the realm.

Ukraine’s Operational Task Force “East” stated individually that its troops had additionally been staging raids south of Pokrovsk’s practice station and that preventing was raging within the metropolis centre.

Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the contrasting battlefield claims and maps from either side contradicted one another too.

Russian maps present Pokrovsk below Moscow’s management and Ukrainian troops encircled in neighbouring Myrnohrad. Ukrainian maps present Pokrovsk as a gray zone below no aspect’s management and Myrnohrad as not being totally surrounded.