Ukraine Says Russia Does Not Control Pokrovsk, Moscow Trying to Pressure Kyiv In US-Led Peace Talks

The Ukrainian military has categorically rejected claims by the Kremlin that Russian forces have secured control of the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Commanders on the ground describe the Russian announcements—including footage of soldiers planting flags—as a psychological operation intended to demoralise Kyiv and strengthen Moscow's hand ahead of imminent US-led peace negotiations.

The Battle for the Logistics Hub

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine insisted that the city remains contested.

'In Myrnohad, Ukrainian units are holding defensive lines and eliminating the enemy on the approaches to the city,' said Ukraine's military. 'Additional logistics routes to Pokrovsk and Myrnohad are being organised to ensure the uninterrupted supply of everything necessary to our units.'

The General Staff characterised the footage of Russian forces planting their flag in Pokrovsk as 'merely another Kremlin attempt to...influence participants in international negotiations.'

Strategic and Economic Stakes

Pokrovsk is a key region in the nearly four-year-long war. It serves as a key logistics and transportation hub in Donetsk that has seen intense combat for two years. Analysts like Emil Kastehelmi say that the destruction caused by continuous fighting only resulted in the district no longer being as strategically important as it once was.

Still, control of Pokrovsk is essential for either side. For Russia, it would give Vladimir Putin more leverage in peace talks, especially when he meets with US officials. Russia has sought to annex the entire Donbas region of Ukraine as one of its military goals in the war.

Tactical Realities and Weather

Despite Ukraine's denial, defence analysts have noted that the chances of Ukraine keeping control of Pokrovsk are diminishing. The region is facing a slow but relentless encirclement by Russian forces, which significantly outnumber Ukraine's defenders.

The sheer length of the front line is stretching resources to the breaking point. Ukraine does not have enough soldiers to man the front lines that stretch as wide as 1,200 kilometres.

The weather conditions have also become a tactical obstacle. Heavy cloud cover and precipitation are grounding Ukraine's drone units, which are typically used to fill the gaps in their defence caused by artillery shortages.

Analysts have long said that Ukraine should prioritise extracting its troops from the area to avoid encirclement, instead bolstering its defences around Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.

The Kremlin's Narrative Strategy

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to tout the gains by the Russian military in Ukraine ahead of the meeting with US envoys. The Kremlin released a video featuring Putin praising his commanders for claiming to have taken control of Pokrovsk.

'I want to thank you. This is an important direction. We all understand just how important,' said Putin in the video. 'It will ensure solutions going forward to the tasks that we initially set at the beginning of the special military operation.'

Putin's remarks come as his generals informed him that Russian forces were undergoing clean-up operations in Pokrovsk and Myrnohad. They claimed that 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers were trapped in the area. This narrative of a 'cauldron'—where enemy troops are encircled and destroyed—is a recurring motif in Russian military propaganda, designed to project inevitability.

His generals also informed him that Russian forces had also taken over the frontline town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv, in an effort to create a security buffer.