On Monday, Russia announced that it has taken control of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, a key supply hub for Ukrainian forces, as well as the town of Vovchansk in the northeast.
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The Kremlin stated on its Telegram channel that Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin on the “liberation” of Krasnoarmiisk (the Russian name for Pokrovsk) and Vovchansk. According to the Kremlin, the report was submitted on Sunday evening, but the announcement was only made on Monday.
The Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing Russian soldiers raising their flag in the central square of Pokrovsk.
Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of around 60,000, has been the site of ongoing fighting for several months. Hundreds of Russian troops infiltrated the city since September, weakening Ukrainian defenses.
The city holds strategic importance due to its location at the intersection of roads and rail lines leading to the last Ukrainian strongholds in the east. Its fall complicates supply routes to Ukrainian forces on other fronts and provides a platform for Russian advances westward, where Ukrainian defenses are thinner, and north toward the major cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. The city’s capture also threatens to encircle the Ukrainian garrison in nearby Mirnograd.
Kyiv had sent reinforcements, including special forces, to Pokrovsk in early November, denying any encirclement of its troops in the area.
Vovchansk, in the Kharkiv region (northeast), has been a battleground since May 2024 and was almost completely destroyed. Front lines there remained largely static for months before the recent Russian advance.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov described the capture of Vovchansk as “an important step toward achieving victory and Moscow’s objectives” in Ukraine.
AFP
