Russia Moscow declares Pokrovsk conquered
According to the Kremlin, the Russian military has completely captured the Ukrainian mining town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which has been embattled for around a year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the conquest of Pokrovsk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalists. There was initially no confirmation from Kiev. The city of Vovchansk in the neighboring Kharkiv region had also been taken. The information cannot be verified independently, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also said during his visit to Paris that the intensity of the fighting around Pokrovsk and in the Kharkiv region was high.
01.12.2025, 21:13
01.12.2025, 21:14
SDA
Observers link the Russian success story with the expected visit of US special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow on Tuesday. The Kremlin wants to present military progress to the negotiator from Washington ahead of talks on a peace plan.
Previously, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had already stated several times that the Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk were surrounded. The Ukrainian President and the General Staff repeatedly denied this. However, Zelenskyi was accused of delaying the withdrawal too long for political reasons, similar to the previously lost cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.
Why Pokrovsk is important
The city, which was once home to around 60,000 people, is regarded as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian war of aggression that has been going on for more than three and a half years. It is now badly damaged.
There are no large settlements to the west of Pokrovsk, which makes further defense difficult for the Ukrainian armed forces. By capturing it, Russia is coming closer to its war goal of completely conquering the Donbass industrial region. However, Russia still has a long and costly way to go before it fully occupies the Donetsk region. Moscow's troops could now concentrate on the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the north-east, which form an important line of defense that has been built up over the years.
The Kremlin could also continue to develop its success in the direction of the Dnipropetrovsk region and the transport hub of Pavlohrad, which is only 90 kilometers away. The Ukrainian troops remaining around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are largely supplied via Pavlohrad. In contrast to the densely populated mining area of Donetsk, there are few natural obstacles in the agricultural steppe landscape.
The conquest of Pokrovsk is considered the biggest military defeat since the fall of Avdiivka in February 2024 - even for President Zelensky. Kiev wanted to show the USA and the Europeans that the billions in arms supplies were helping the country to defend its territory. In contrast, critics have long complained that Ukraine risked excessive losses in order to hold Pokrovsk for as long as possible - instead of using the resources to strengthen other lines of defense.
Moscow's war aims include the capture of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Russia has declared to be its territories alongside Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. However, the Russian military still does not fully control any of these territories.
New tactics of Russian troops
Kiev's troops are under massive pressure on several sections of the front in the south and east. The shortage of soldiers is causing problems for Ukraine due to recruitment difficulties and widespread desertion.
Moscow's armed forces have been advancing slowly and with heavy losses on the front in the east since fall 2023. After Pokrovsk, they used a new tactic to penetrate in several smaller infantry groups and bypass the Ukrainian lines. They refrained from attacking larger units and using armored technology, which is an easy target for Ukrainian drones.
The Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR had reported on an operation by its special forces to halt the fall of Pokrovsk. Apparently, they were no longer able to turn the tide for Ukraine.
But even after the fall of Pokrovsk, no sudden changes in the course of the war are to be expected. Both sides in the war of attrition are counting on exhausting their opponents. However, the Ukrainian chances of success are far worse than those of the Russian side.
