Russia launches massive assault on Pokrovsk; Ukraine resists
Ukrainian forces have reported an unusually large Russian mechanised assault in the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk, where Moscow has reportedly concentrated around 156,000 troops in an attempt to seize the former logistics hub, now largely destroyed.
“The Russians used armoured vehicles, cars, and motorcycles. The convoys attempted to break through from the south to the northern part of the city,” Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps said in a Wednesday statement about an earlier-day attack, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
A source from the 7th Rapid Response Corps told Reuters that Russia had deployed roughly 30 vehicles in convoy, marking the largest such attack so far inside Pokrovsk. Previously, Russian forces had relied on just one or two vehicles to support troop advances.
While Russia claims full control of Pokrovsk, Kyiv insists that its troops continue to hold the northern part of the city, where fierce urban combat persists.
For months, Russian troops have been advancing into the city in small infantry groups, seeking to capture the former logistics hub as a key objective in Moscow’s campaign to take full control of Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region.
Video clips shared by the 7th Rapid Response Corps show heavy vehicles struggling through snow and mud, drone strikes on Russian troops, and explosions with burning wreckage.
According to Ukrainian forces, Russian troops tried to take advantage of poor weather conditions but were repelled, the unit stated on Facebook.
Seizing Pokrovsk would be Russia’s largest victory in Ukraine in nearly two years. The city’s weakening defence amid Moscow’s offensive has intensified pressure on Kyiv, which is negotiating a United States-backed peace proposal that is seen as favourable to Moscow.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, said earlier this week that the situation around Pokrovsk remained difficult as Russian forces massed roughly 156,000 troops around the city.
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