Ukraine says troops still holding out in Pokrovsk as Russia claims city nearly surrounded
Kyiv/Moscow, November 1 – Ukraine’s top military commander said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces are continuing to defend positions in the heavily contested eastern city of Pokrovsk, even as Moscow claimed its troops are closing in from both sides after more than a year of fighting.
Pokrovsk, once home to around 70,000 residents, has been reduced to ruins during Russia’s campaign to capture the strategic city, which has been called “the gateway to Donetsk.” Securing Pokrovsk would mark Russia’s most significant territorial advance in Ukraine since the fall of Avdiivka in early 2024 — a brutal battle that left thousands dead on both sides.
Ukraine insists city still under control
“We are holding Pokrovsk,” Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi declared in a statement on Facebook. “A comprehensive operation to destroy and dislodge enemy forces from Pokrovsk is ongoing.”
Russian military officials, however, said their troops had nearly completed an encirclement of the city and claimed to be pushing deeper into Ukrainian defenses. Moscow’s forces, they added, were now positioned to move toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the two largest cities in Ukrainian-held Donetsk.
Independent verification of battlefield claims remains impossible due to restricted access on both sides. According to Deepstate, a Ukrainian mapping project using open-source intelligence, Russian forces control a small area in the south of Pokrovsk, while most of the city remains a contested “grey zone.”
Conflicting reports on special forces mission
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its troops had eliminated a Ukrainian special forces unit inserted by helicopter earlier this week to reinforce Pokrovsk. Kyiv confirmed the mission but denied Moscow’s claim, saying the operation was “ongoing.”
Russian media outlet Zvezda released footage it claimed showed Ukrainian soldiers surrendering in the city, but Reuters could not verify the authenticity, timing, or location of the video.
Moscow also reported repelling a Ukrainian attempt to break out from Hryshyne, northwest of Pokrovsk — a development that, if confirmed, could signal Ukraine’s supply lines to the city are under increasing threat.
Ukraine’s military acknowledged that the situation in Pokrovsk “remains difficult and dynamic,” but said its forces had “improved tactical positions in several quarters of the city.”
Strategic importance of Donbas
Pokrovsk lies in the heart of the Donbas region, which Russia seeks to capture in full. The area includes Donetsk and Luhansk provinces — both claimed and partially occupied by Moscow. Ukraine currently retains control over roughly 10% of Donbas, amounting to about 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) in the western part of Donetsk.
As the war grinds through its third year, the battle for Pokrovsk could determine whether Russia gains full control of Donetsk — a symbolic and strategic victory in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
