Russian troops have destroyed or captured several Ukrainian positions near the eastern town of Pokrovsk, kyiv’s military said Wednesday, as Moscow attacks the strategic logistics hub that houses a unique Ukrainian coke mine.
After months of accelerated advances toward Pokrovsk, Moscow’s forces are now 3 kilometers from the city’s southern outskirts, according to DeepState, a Ukrainian organization that maps front lines from 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,” Nazar Voloshyn, Ukrainian military spokesman for the Eastern Front, said in television commentaries.
Pokrovsk, located about 18 kilometers from the border between Ukraine’s Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, has for months been the scene of the most violent battles of Russia’s 33-month all-out invasion of Ukraine.
In October and November, the Russian army advanced toward the city at its fastest pace since the early months of the war, analysts say. Ukraine, which has been on the back foot since its failed 2023 counter-offensive, says Russia has suffered some of the heaviest losses of the war to date.
Ukraine and Russia both have their eyes on the growing prospect of progress towards peace talks, as US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, after calling for a immediate ceasefire and a rapid end to the war.
kyiv has urged its allies to take 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 rapidly advanced toward Shevchenko, a village south of Pokrovsk, in recent weeks.
His forces are currently trying to gain a foothold in the village and are sending reconnaissance and sabotage groups, Voloshyn said. Ukraine is holding them for now, he added.
The fall of Pokrovsk, an important logistics center for the Ukrainian army in the east of the country, would constitute the biggest military setback for kyiv in months.
The city is also home to the only domestic supplier of coking coal to Ukraine’s once-large steel industry.
The mine, which was still active on December 6, is located 10 km west of Pokrovsk, opposite the advancing Russian troops.
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