Ukraine reports large Russian mechanised assault in battle for Pokrovsk

Russia has claimed to beryllium successful afloat power of Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian forces accidental they inactive power the bluish portion of the strategical metropolis successful eastbound Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces person reported an unusually ample Russian mechanised onslaught wrong the strategic eastbound metropolis of Pokrovsk, wherever Russia has reportedly massed a unit of immoderate 156,000 troops to instrumentality the beleaguered and present destroyed erstwhile logistics hub.

“The Russians utilized armoured vehicles, cars, and motorcycles. The convoys attempted to interruption done from the southbound to the bluish portion of the city,” Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps said successful a connection connected Wednesday regarding an battle earlier successful the day.

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A root successful the 7th Rapid Response Corps told the Reuters quality bureau that Russia had deployed astir 30 vehicles successful convoy, making it the largest specified onslaught yet wrong the city. The root added that previously, Russia had deployed conscionable 1 oregon 2 vehicles to assistance unit advances.

While Russia has claimed afloat power of Pokrovsk, Kyiv maintains that its troops inactive clasp the northern portion of the city, wherever fierce municipality battles proceed to rage.

Russian troops person pushed into the metropolis for months successful tiny infantry groups, looking to seizure the erstwhile logistics hub arsenic a captious portion of Moscow’s run to prehend the entire concern Donbas region of eastbound Ukraine.

Video clips shared by the 7th Rapid Response Corps showed dense vehicles successful snowfall and mud, arsenic good arsenic drone attacks connected Russian troops and explosions and burning wreckage.

Russian forces were attempting to exploit mediocre upwind conditions but had been pushed back, the portion said connected Facebook.

Capturing Pokrovsk would beryllium Russia’s biggest prize successful Ukraine successful astir 2 years, and the city’s weakening defence amid Moscow’s onslaught has added to unit connected Kyiv, which is attempting to amended presumption successful a United States-backed connection for a bid woody that is wide seen arsenic favourable to Moscow.

Ukraine’s apical subject commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, told journalists earlier this week that the concern astir Pokrovsk remained hard arsenic Russia massed a unit of immoderate 156,000 astir the beleaguered city.

Syrskii said Russian troops were staging the subject buildup successful the country nether the screen of rainfall and fog.

George Barros, Russia squad pb astatine the Institute for the Study of War – a US-based deliberation vessel – said Moscow is “hyping” the value of the autumn of Pokrovsk “in bid to represent Russia’s battlefield advances arsenic inevitable”.

“That consciousness of inevitability is being echoed by immoderate members of President Donald Trump’s negotiating squad trying to propulsion unneurotic a bid connection for the Ukraine war,” Barros wrote successful an sentiment portion shared online.

But Russia has paid a immense terms successful its propulsion to instrumentality the metropolis with “more than 1,000 armoured vehicles and implicit 500 tanks” mislaid successful the Pokrovsk country unsocial since the opening of Russia’s violative operations successful October 2023 to prehend adjacent Avdiivka, which fell to Russian forces successful aboriginal 2024 successful 1 of the bloodiest battles of the warfare truthful far.

NEW: The Kremlin is importantly intensifying its cognitive warfare effort to contiguous the Russian subject and system arsenic capable to inevitably triumph a warfare of attrition against Ukraine. ⬇️

The Kremlin’s cognitive warfare effort aims to execute respective of Putin’s archetypal warfare aims… pic.twitter.com/zXxCKrI06x

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) December 10, 2025

On Wednesday, President Trump said helium had exchanged “pretty beardown words” with the leaders of France, Britain and Germany connected Ukraine, telling them their program to clasp caller talks connected a projected US bid program this play risked “wasting time”.

“We discussed Ukraine successful beauteous beardown words,” Trump told reporters erstwhile asked astir the telephone telephone with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“They would similar america to spell to a gathering implicit the play successful Europe, and we’ll marque a determination depending connected what they travel backmost with. We don’t privation to beryllium wasting time,” Trump said.

The archetypal US bid program that progressive Ukraine surrendering onshore that Russia has not captured was seen by Kyiv and its European allies arsenic aligning excessively intimately with galore of Russia’s demands to extremity the war, and has since been revised.

Trump has been pushing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold to the US program portion Ukrainian officials told the AFP quality bureau connected Wednesday that Kyiv had sent an updated draught of the program backmost to Washington.