Russian Forces Advance Towards Strategic City of Pokrovsk

Russian forces have been assaulting Selydove, a coal-mining town in Ukraine's Donetsk region, for the past week.

Russian forces have pushed deeper into several eastern Ukrainian towns, edging closer to capturing the strategic city of Pokrovsk, according to reports from both Russian and Ukrainian bloggers.

“The enemy advanced in Selydove,” wrote DeepState, a group closely aligned with the Ukrainian military that analyzes combat footage, on Telegram late Saturday. The group posted a map showing Russian troops advancing in the southeastern part of the town.

Russian forces have been assaulting Selydove, a coal-mining town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, for the past week. Taking Selydove would open a pathway for Russian troops to push towards Pokrovsk, a critical logistical hub located 20 km (12 miles) northwest.

The Russian news outlet SHOT reported on Telegram that Moscow’s forces now control 80% of Selydove. Meanwhile, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of Donetsk region, announced that Russian troops had raised their unit’s flag atop a building in Hirnyk, a town about 14 km south of Selydove, as reported by Russia’s state news agency RIA.

Russian military bloggers also indicated that Russian troops are close to capturing the town of Kurakhove, southwest of Hirnyk.

Reuters could not independently verify these reports, and Ukrainian officials have not commented on them. However, Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported in their Saturday evening briefing that Kyiv’s forces had repelled 36 Russian attacks along the Pokrovsk frontline within the previous day, including the Selydove area, with ongoing battles still underway.

After the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022 failed to seize Kyiv and secure a swift victory, Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted his war aims to capturing Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as Donbas, which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

According to open-source data, last month saw Russian forces make their fastest advance in this area since March 2022, despite Ukraine’s counterattacks reaching into Russia’s Kursk region.