Putin says that the strategic city in eastern Ukraine is under Russian siege world

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that his country’s forces have besieged the strategic city of Pokrovsk and control 70% of it. This information was refuted by the main military commander of Ukraine, who said that Kiev is launching a counterattack and that fighting continues intensely in the central area of the city.

Moscow has been trying to take full control of Pokrovsk, which Russians call Krasnoarmeysk dating back to the Soviet era, since mid-2024 as part of its strategy to seize the entire Donbass industrial region, located in the far east of Ukraine and southwest Russia.

Russian forces used a pincer maneuver to try to gradually encircle the city, that is, to infiltrate initially with small and then larger attack groups. The tactic is the opposite of a direct attack on the region, which was once home to more than 60,000 people and was an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Kremlin claims that seizing Pokrovsk, which Russian media has dubbed the “Gateway to Donetsk,” would give it a platform to advance north toward the two largest cities still under Ukrainian control in the Donetsk region: Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.

The pressure on the city comes as the United States tries to broker a potential peace plan to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II, with both sides keen to show they have the upper hand on the battlefield.

At a news conference in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said that Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Mirnohrad, which the Russians call Dimitrov, were facing a serious problem and that Ukraine could face the collapse of its front line at certain points.

“Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) and Dimitrov (Mirnohrad) are completely surrounded,” Putin told reporters, adding that some of Kiev’s most combat-ready forces were being destroyed in the process.

Putin said: “About 70% of the territory of Krasnoarmeysk is in the hands of the Russian Armed Forces. In the south of the city of Dimitrov, the enemy group has been surrounded. It is spread throughout the city. Our forces are advancing towards its systematic destruction.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously stated that its offensive units were advancing in the center and north of Pokrovsk and that its forces had advanced to the east, west and south of Mirnohrad.

Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s supreme commander, painted a different picture, claiming on social media that Ukrainian forces were blocking attempts by Russian forces to carry out further attacks on Pokrovsk and Mirnohrad. Sirsky said Russia had to bring reserve forces to the region.

Ukraine’s Operational Task Force “Eastern” separately reported that its forces were also carrying out raids south of the Pokrovsk railway station and that fighting was intense in the city centre.

It was not possible to independently verify the contradictory claims about the battlefield, and maps from both sides contradicted each other.

Russian maps show Pokrovsk under Moscow’s control and Ukrainian forces surrounded in nearby Mirnohrad. Ukrainian maps show Pokrovsk as a gray area with no control from either side and Mirnohrad as not being completely surrounded.