The Russian defence ministry asserted that Ukrainian troops encircled in parts of Pokrovsk had begun surrendering as Russian formations pressed deeper into the city. However, Ukraine denied the claims….reports Asian Lite News
Ukrainian forces are continuing to battle Russian troops street-by-street in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, as Moscow claims some encircled soldiers have laid down arms, while Kyiv insists the situation remains fluid and fiercely contested. The fighting around the strategic Donetsk city has intensified sharply in recent days, with Russian media alleging that pockets of Ukrainian defenders have surrendered and Ukrainian commanders acknowledging a “difficult and dynamic” front.
The Russian defence ministry asserted that Ukrainian troops encircled in parts of Pokrovsk had begun surrendering as Russian formations pressed deeper into the city. Russian state agency TASS amplified the claim, presenting it as evidence that the defence was collapsing in some districts. However, Ukraine dismissed suggestions of widespread capitulation, emphasising that the battle is ongoing and that its defence lines are still being reinforced.
Ukraine’s military said some positions in the city had improved despite Russian infiltration. The 7th Rapid Response Corps stated on Facebook that additional assault units were being deployed to bolster the defence and disrupt Russian supply routes around the city. Ukrainian forces, it said, were “working intensively to cut Moscow’s military logistics lines and prevent further entrenchment”.
Moscow also asserted that its troops had neutralised a Ukrainian special forces team that attempted to enter Pokrovsk in a bid to halt Russia’s advance. The Russian defence ministry later circulated videos allegedly showing two surrendered Ukrainian servicemen describing encirclement and heavy fighting. The authenticity of the footage could not be independently verified, and Kyiv has yet to comment publicly on the clips.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently conceded that Russian units had infiltrated Pokrovsk but insisted Ukrainian forces were countering them. He said Russia had committed roughly 170,000 troops to the Donetsk region as part of a concerted drive to seize the city and secure a symbolic battlefield win. Russian media have described Pokrovsk as “the gateway to Donetsk”, highlighting its strategic value both militarily and politically.
Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, stressed on Saturday that the urban battle remained the most intense facing Kyiv’s troops. He described the situation as “hardest” in Pokrovsk, where forces were repelling Russian formations at close quarters. He rejected Moscow’s claims of encirclement or blockade, saying “a comprehensive operation to destroy and push out enemy forces from Pokrovsk is ongoing” and noting the pivotal role of drone operators and assault infantry in the defence effort.
Pokrovsk, sitting on the edge of the industrial Donbas, has long been seen as a critical objective in Russia’s ambition to seize full control of the region. Kyiv still holds roughly 10% of Donbas, and analysts say that capturing Pokrovsk and nearby Kostiantynivka would provide Moscow a staging point for assaults towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the largest remaining cities under Ukrainian control in Donetsk.
Away from the frontline, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, HUR, claimed its units struck the Koltsevoy pipeline near Moscow in a sabotage operation late Friday. The 250-mile pipeline supplies fuel from refineries in Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow to the Russian military. HUR said the strike destroyed three lines that transported millions of tonnes of jet fuel, diesel and petrol annually, calling the attack a “serious blow” to Russian logistics.
Russia, meanwhile, launched an overnight strike on a gas production facility in Poltava, central Ukraine, causing a fire but no casualties, local authorities reported. Kyiv also accused Moscow of “nuclear terrorism” after strikes damaged substations powering several nuclear plants. Ukrainian officials warned that attacks on such critical energy infrastructure risked catastrophic consequences.
In the southern Mykolaiv region, one civilian was killed and fifteen injured, including a child, after Russian forces fired an Iskander ballistic missile on Saturday morning, regional governor Vitaliy Kim confirmed.
As winter sets in and fighting intensifies along multiple fronts, the battle for Pokrovsk has emerged as a central test of Ukraine’s resilience and Russia’s determination to secure momentum in the east. Both sides appear locked in a spiralling clash of attrition, with the city’s fate seen as pivotal to the next phase of the war.
