Russia claims to have captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a vital logistics hub that has been the focus of fighting for nearly two years. The announcement came from a Kremlin Telegram post quoting Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, who also said Russian troops had secured Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Gerasimov delivered the news of the “liberation” to President Vladimir Putin on Sunday during the president’s visit to a front-line command centre, according to TASS.
Pokrovsk — once a bustling city of 60,000 — plays a central role in transportation across the Donetsk region, one of the areas Moscow claims to have annexed. The city has endured weeks of relentless Russian bombardment, leaving entire neighbourhoods destroyed.
Kyiv has yet to acknowledge the reported loss. Reuters, however, noted that Russia has been circulating video footage that allegedly shows soldiers parading through Pokrovsk and raising the Russian flag over the city.
Putin later congratulated the troops, referring to the city by its Soviet-era name, Krasnoarmeysk. He applauded both commanders and soldiers for what he described as a significant victory.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with US and European leaders to discuss potential strategies for negotiating an end to the conflict.
