Hundreds of Russian troops have pushed deeper into Ukraine’s embattled cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk in eastern Donets region.
Video footage showing Russian soldiers advancing on motorbikes, cars, vans and event on foot in a foggy weather has been released on social media. Many vehicles in the video had missing windows and doors; some Russian troops sat on the roof of a battered vehicle. A drone can be seen beside the road. The exact date and location where the footage was captured has yet to be verified.
Being the logistics hub and dubbed "the gateway to Donetsk" by the Russian media, Pokrovsk has been the venue of the fiercest fightings over the past year. Capturing Pokrovsk would give Moscow a platform to drive north north towards Kramatorks and Sloviansk - the largest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in Donetsk. Ukrainian military said 300 Russian troops were now inside Pokrovsk and that columns of Russian military personnels and equipment were entering Pokrovsk after being pulled from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia region amid efforts to make up for the losses in the eastern front. Russian army units are using foggy weather to hide from Ukrainain drones.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was visiting Ukrainian-held parts of southern Kherson region, described the situation in Pokrovsk as "difficult, particularly as weather conditions favour attacks. But we are continuing to destroy the occupiers." Writing in a Telegram post, Zelenskiy said Russia was scaling up its attacks in southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Moscow has confirmed fierce battles in Pokrovsk, with the military stating it has captured 256 buildings. Its forces were advancing to the northwest and east of Pokrovsk and around the railway station. There have been conflicting reports about the situation in Pokrovsk. Moscow has claimed encircling the city while Kyiv denies such reports. Ukraine has repeatedly denied Russian reports about capture of parts of the city.
The Commander-in-Chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with the New York times on Monday that Moscow was stationing around 150,000 troops of mechanised groups and marine brigades in a drive to seize Pokrovsk.
