a strategically located eastern city under intense Russian assault. The important hub in Ukraine's Donetsk region lies on a major supply route for the Ukrainian army and has been in Moscow's sights for over a year. Up to 300 Russian soldiers were fighting in the city in a renewed push, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week. He visited troops near Pokrovsk on Tuesday, vowing to do "our utmost" to keep it under Kyiv's control.

The Russian army on Tuesday said it was "tightening the encirclement around the enemy" in Pokrovsk and claimed to have captured a few dozen buildings in the town. But on Wednesday the Ukrainian General Staff said there was "no encirclement of our units and divisions". "Measures are being taken to block the enemy, who is attempting to infiltrate" the city, it added in a social media statement.

"Active resistance to attempts by enemy infantry groups to establish positions is ongoing." Pokrovsk, home to 60,000 people before the war, is now a largely deserted wasteland devastated by fighting. Ukraine at the weekend deployed special forces to bolster the city's defences. Russia has seized large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine since launching its 2022 invasion. (Bssnews)