Ukraine has deployed elite special forces to the eastern city of Pokrovsk amid a major Russian offensive involving thousands of troops, the country’s top commander confirmed on Saturday.
The embattled city, located in the Donetsk region, sits on a critical supply route for Ukrainian forces and has become the latest flashpoint in Russia’s grinding campaign to seize territory in the east.
Pokrovsk, once home to around 60,000 people, has been a target of Moscow’s advances for over a year. According to reports from the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces are attempting to encircle the city through a pincer movement, with hundreds of soldiers already infiltrating its outskirts.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said a “comprehensive operation to destroy and displace enemy forces from Pokrovsk” was underway.
“By my order, consolidated groups of Special Operations Forces are operating in the city,” he added, without specifying the exact size or scope of the deployment.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show helicopters flying over Pokrovsk and landing in nearby fields, with Ukrainian troops disembarking under fire. The authenticity of the footage has not been independently verified, but it aligns with reports of intensified clashes and heavy shelling in the region.
Syrsky said Pokrovsk was under threat from an “enemy group thousands strong,” but rejected claims that the city had been surrounded by Russian forces.
“There is no blockade,” he stressed. “We are doing everything possible to maintain logistics and supply routes.”
Pokrovsk’s strategic importance lies in its role as a logistics and supply hub for Ukrainian operations along the Donetsk front. Losing the city would represent a symbolic and tactical victory for Moscow, providing a morale boost to Russian troops and further straining Kyiv’s defensive lines.
Once bustling with life, Pokrovsk has been transformed into a near-deserted wasteland after months of relentless bombardment. Satellite images show widespread destruction, with much of the city’s infrastructure, homes, and power grid reduced to ruins. Most of its pre-war population has fled, leaving behind soldiers, emergency responders, and a handful of civilians struggling to survive amid constant shelling.
The renewed fighting in Pokrovsk coincides with a surge in Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. According to data published by Kyiv’s air force and analysed by AFP, Russia launched 270 missiles in October alone the highest monthly total since early 2023 marking a 46% increase from the previous month.
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These strikes have targeted Ukraine’s already fragile energy infrastructure, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of residents as the country braces for a fourth winter of war. Authorities have imposed rolling blackouts in Kyiv and across all regions to cope with the shortages.
Despite Russia’s claims that the strikes are aimed at military targets, Ukrainian officials and Western allies accuse Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians to erode morale and exhaust Ukraine’s resilience.
The intensifying assault has drawn international concern. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for restraint and a renewed push for peace talks, warning that the humanitarian toll continues to mount.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022 describing it as a “special military operation” the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions. Entire cities have been wiped out, and roughly one-fifth of Ukraine remains under Russian occupation, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least two people in separate attacks earlier on Saturday, underscoring the ongoing threat facing civilians far from the front lines.
As the battle for Pokrovsk intensifies, analysts say the coming weeks could prove pivotal. A successful Ukrainian defence could stall Russia’s eastward push, but if Moscow takes the city, it would mark one of its most significant territorial gains in months and deal a major blow to Kyiv’s military momentum.
