Putin Claims Russian Troops Control Ukraine's Pokrvsk-Vovchansk City

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin claims Russian troops have taken control of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk, the two Ukrainian cities where fierce fighting has been going on for weeks in the eastern region of the country.

Putin made the claim the night before his meeting with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow to discuss a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

The claim appears to be meant to influence the meeting, sending a Russian message it is moving forward and does not need to compromise.

However, the Ukrainian military denied Putin's claims, and soldiers on the front lines told the ABC the claims were false.

Putin and the Russian military have repeatedly wrongly claimed to have captured Ukrainian cities before their time.

Ukrainian forces "continue to hold back" the progress of Russia in Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian 7th Rapid Response Corps statement from the Air Strike Forces said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Russia has been trying to seize Pokrovsk, an important bastion for Ukraine, for more than a year and a half with enormous sacrifices.

In the past month, Russia has almost seized the devastated city, but Ukrainian forces still control several areas, and Pokrovsk has not completely fallen, according to independent military analysts and Ukrainian forces on the ground.

Vovchansk is located in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, near the border with Russia. Russia has also fought against Ukraine there for months, without successfully capturing it convincingly.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces maintain their position in the southern part of Vovchansk. The city has not been captured, but it is effectively gone, Ukraine's Joint Forces Communications Chief, Viktor Tregubov, told ABC News when asked about Russia's claims.

"Russia continues to advance through the rubble and moves towards the west of the city. They have not fully succeeded in expelling our troops from their territory, but most of the ruins are currently under their control," Tregubov continued.

Putin has recently also repeatedly claimed the city of Kupiansk had fallen. But now Ukraine claims to have almost managed to get Russia out of there.