Buildings destroyed by invading Russian forces in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, in October 2024. Photograph: Tyler Hicks/New York TimesRussia’s defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had advanced in the battered Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk and were fighting house-to-house battles in a bid to eject Ukrainian forces from the city. Russian forces are just a few kilometres away from closing their pincer movement around Pokrovsk and neighbouring Myrnohrad and are also closing in on Ukrainian forces in Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. Yuri Podolyaka, one of Russia’s top war bloggers, said Russia had tactical control of Pokrovsk but that in Myrnohrad Ukrainian forces had blocked themselves behind heavy defences. Ukrainian forces were also seeking to attack from the northwest.

Source: The Irish Times November 06, 2025 21:33 UTC