JAKARTA - Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in a fierce city war in the city of Pokrovsk, as Moscow said its troops were moving forward north of the city, while Kyiv said its military was trying hard to prevent Russia from gaining new territory.
Ukraine has acknowledged that its forces are facing a difficult position in the strategic city in the eastern city, which was once an important transportation and logistics hub for Ukrainian soldiers, which Russia has seized for more than a year.
Russia views the city as a gateway to seize the remaining 10 percent, or 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of the Donbas industrial area in eastern Ukraine, one of its main destinations in the war that has lasted nearly four years.
Russia's Defense Ministry said two groups of attackers destroyed trapped Ukrainian troops in several city districts and continued attacks to the north through the region.
Russian troops are said to be clearing Ukrainian troops from settlements on the southeast side of Pokrovsk and have thwarted Ukraine's efforts to get out of the siege.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military denies that its forces are under siege in Pokrovsk. They said they were trying to stop Russian troops from digging the defense while trying to secure and protect logistics routes in the wider area.
"Steps are being taken to block the enemy, who is trying to infiltrate and gather in Pokrovsk City," the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement.
"Active countermeasures are being taken against the efforts of the enemy infantry group to gain a foothold," he added.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday the area around Pokrovsk was still under heavy pressure, but up to 300 Russian soldiers who were still in the city had not made any progress in the past day and there were only 60 soldiers in another city, Kupiansk.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday President Zelensky did not understand what was happening or deliberately attempted to hide the precarious situation for Kyiv forces.
Ukrainian units are trapped in "tricks" at both locations, he said, and their positions are deteriorating rapidly while Russian troops continue to advance, "there is no chance for Ukrainian soldiers to save themselves other than by surrendering voluntarily".
Reuters was unable to verify the statements of both sides due to restrictions on access to the battlefield from both sides.
Moscow says seizing Pokrovsk will give it a basis to move north towards Ukraine's two largest cities in Donetsk, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. This will give Moscow its most important single territorial advantage in Ukraine since capturing the destroyed city of Avdivka in early 2024.
In contrast to the frontal attacks Russian forces have carried out on other cities, Russia has used clamped motions to nearly surround Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk and the city of Kupiansk, while small, highly mobile and drone units disrupt logistics and spread chaos behind the Ukrainian line.
Russia's tactics at both locations have created what Russian military bloggers call the gray zone ambiguity, where no party has complete control, but it is very difficult for Ukraine to defend it.
Separately, the open source battlefield maps show Russian troops are several kilometers away from the full siege of Pokrovsk, known by Russia as Krasnoarmeysk, and control most of the Kupiansk where they move forward on the main road to the city.
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Pokrovsk, the center of highways and trains in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, had a population of about 60,000 people before the war. However, most of the population has now fled, all children have been evacuated, and few civilians remain amid the rubble of apartment buildings and potholes.
In addition to trying to capture the entire Donbas, Russia has made gradual progress in Kharkiv and Dnipopxisk regions further to the west.
The Russian military says it now controls more than 19 percent of Ukraine, or about 116,000 square km (44,800 square miles).
The Ukrainian map also shows Russia's control of about 19 percent of Ukraine, up about 1 percentage point from Moscow's position two years ago.
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