Why the Battle for Pokrovsk Could Define Russia’s Campaign in Eastern Ukraine?
Ukraine’s strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk has become the latest epicenter of heavy fighting, as Russian forces intensify their push to seize control of the key transport and industrial hub in Donetsk region.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Reuters.
According to Ukraine’s military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, more than 100,000 Russian troops have been concentrated in the area. Ukrainian defenders are resisting attempts to encircle the city, while Moscow claims its forces are advancing and destroying Ukrainian formations trapped inside the urban perimeter.
Pokrovsk, once home to around 60,000 residents, has been largely evacuated, with few civilians remaining amid widespread destruction. The city’s importance lies in its position as a road and railway junction used by Ukraine to supply nearby defensive positions, and its proximity to the country’s last functioning coking coal mine, vital for the steel industry before the war.
Russian state media have dubbed Pokrovsk the “gateway to Donetsk.” Capturing it, along with Kostiantynivka to the northeast, would give Moscow a strategic springboard for further offensives toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – Ukraine’s main strongholds in the region.
Unlike the brutal frontal assaults seen in Bakhmut, Russian forces have employed a pincer strategy, using drones and small assault groups to weaken Ukrainian defenses before sending larger units.
Analysts such as Rob Lee from the Foreign Policy Research Institute say that while taking Pokrovsk would mark Russia’s most significant territorial gain since Avdiivka in early 2024, it would still leave “a long way to go” toward full control of Donetsk.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed “fierce fighting in the city and on its approaches,” describing logistics as “difficult but ongoing.” Independent military mapping projects such as DeepState show Russian forces pushing into parts of Pokrovsk, but with much of the city still contested, marked in “grey zones” beyond either side’s full control.
Kyiv maintains that Russia has not captured any districts entirely and says its troops recently advanced near Dobropillia, aiming to stretch Moscow’s lines and ease pressure on Pokrovsk.
As the battle grinds on, Pokrovsk stands as both a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance and a test of Russia’s ability to convert attritional warfare into lasting strategic gains in the Donbas.
As The Gaze reported earlier, the situation in the Pokrovsk and Kupiansk areas remains difficult, but Russian propaganda claims that the Defense Forces are being “blocked” do not reflect reality.