Strategic Shift in the East: Russian Forces Seize Control of Pokrovsk

Wed Oct 29 2025 06:06:49 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As Russian troops establish a foothold in Pokrovsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns of the overwhelming numbers facing Ukrainian defenders while seeking continued support from allies.

Russian forces have reportedly captured key positions in the strategic town of Pokrovsk, which serves as a critical supply hub for the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky emphasizes the significant disparity in troop numbers, with Russian soldiers outnumbering Ukrainian forces by a ratio of 8 to 1. Despite encirclement claims from Russian officials, Zelensky asserts that Ukrainian troops maintain control of parts of the town amid a resurgence of fierce fighting. This situation highlights the necessity for international support as Ukraine faces the lasting impacts of a prolonged conflict;

Russian troops are making a concerted push in eastern Ukraine and have gained a foothold in the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.

Moscow's soldiers outnumber Kyiv's 8-1 in the area and Ukraine cannot match that, Zelensky added while insisting Russia had not yet achieved the planned result.

Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk for two years. The key supply and transport hub provides supplies and reinforcements to the eastern front - and it would get Moscow closer to occupying the entirety of the Donetsk region.

It would also put towns of the heavily fortified fortress belt - Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka, and Druzhkivka - within easier reach of Moscow.

Zelensky said drone imagery showed that around 200 Russian soldiers were inside Pokrovsk.

Describing the situation as difficult, he said earlier that there was widespread fierce fighting and sabotage groups had entered the town.

However, he rejected reports by Russia's Chief of General Staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, that Ukrainian troops had been completely surrounded.

In an update on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had encircled Ukrainian troops around the main railway station and cleared the city's Troyanda district of Ukrainian forces.

One soldier from Ukraine's 155th Brigade, Artem Pribylnov, rejected the notion that Ukrainian troops had been encircled in a cauldron at Pokrovsk.

But the war has changed and it's very technological now, he said.

In previous assaults there had been a path out of the cauldron that troops could drive in and out of, he said, but now drones controlled access points, which made it extremely dangerous.

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