Images captured on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk show Russian soldiers advancing on motorcycles and private vehicles under the cover of thick fog, giving an indication of what is happening in Pokrovsk.
The soldiers are seen advancing through the fog, some on motorcycles and others on the roofs of damaged cars and trucks, as Russia said its forces had also advanced further towards Kupyansk.
Ukraine’s 7th Airborne Corps said the weather conditions, particularly the thick fog, had prompted Moscow to step up its efforts to move more troops into the devastated city and then encircle Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces have been trying to capture the city for more than a year, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says fog is facilitating attacks, calling the situation difficult.
According to conflicting reports, the video was filmed on the southern outskirts of the city, on the Selindov-Pokrovsk highway.
The 7th Corps claims there are now 300 Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk, although that was the number Zelensky initially announced last Wednesday.
After more than a year of fighting, Pokrovsk — a rail and crucial supply hub in the Donetsk region — has been razed. The population of 60,000 before the war began in 2022 has dwindled to fewer than 1,300. Ukrainian soldiers defending the city speak of constant fighting and note that it is the bloodiest battlefield in four years of fighting.
Pokrovsk – if it falls – would be the largest Ukrainian city to fall since Bakhmut in May 2023. It is seen as the last major obstacle before the Russians approach Sloviansk and Kramatorsk – the two major cities in Donetsk that remain under Ukrainian control. Taking the city would reinforce the Kremlin’s narrative that “the Russian army is advancing” and that the war will worsen for Ukraine if it does not give in to Moscow’s demands.
Kiev is fighting to hold Pokrovsk not only for strategic reasons, but also to counter the Russian narrative – especially as it seeks further support from the fractious Trump administration.
