Russia claims capture of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk as fighting intensifies across eastern, northeastern Ukraine

Russia claims capture of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk as fighting intensifies across eastern, northeastern Ukraine

Russia on Monday said that its troops had seized control of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region and Vovchansk in northeastern Kharkiv - what Moscow says are significant battlefield gains as the war enters a new phase of pressure on Kyiv.

The announcements were made in a statement on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel, which said Russia’s military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov had on Sunday “informed (President) Vladimir Putin of the liberation of the cities of Krasnoarmeysk and Vovchansk,” using the Russian name for Pokrovsk.

The Russian defence ministry also circulated a video that it said showed Russian soldiers hoisting their flag in Pokrovsk’s central square.

Pokrovsk, once a city of about 60,000 residents, is a major transport crossroads, and Ukrainian troops have been trying for months to hold off Russia’s advance there, according to AFP.

As pressure mounted, Kyiv even sent in additional units, including special forces, in a last-ditch effort to stabilise the front, AFP has reported.

Moscow has gone on to claim that several hundred of its troops managed to slip into the city and push forward street by street in recent weeks.

Vovchansk, on the other hand, has been left in ruins after months of heavy combat and close-quarters fighting in the area. Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov has previously called the capture of the town an “important step toward victory.”

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the capture of Pokrovsk would enable the military to proceed with its tasks in its offensive operations in Ukraine.

"This is an important direction. We all understand just how important. It will ensure solutions going forward to the tasks we initially set at the beginning of the special military operation," Putin was quoted as saying during a visit on Sunday to a command post.