Kyiv, Ukraine
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Fighting for control of the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine has intensified, with Russia’s Ministry of Defense claiming it has eliminated a group of Ukrainian special forces sent to defend the region.
In recent weeks, Russian military forces have begun moving into the city of Pokrovsk itself, closing in on the last supply route used to sustain Ukrainian forces in the city.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian special forces landed by helicopter on the northwestern outskirts of Pokrovsk. Drone footage shared by Russia’s unofficial Telegram channel showed Ukrainian soldiers fanning out from a Black Hawk helicopter. The Ministry of Defense claimed that 11 of the soldiers who landed were killed. It is unclear when the mission took place.
Ukrainian sources told CNN the claim is false. Stabilization efforts led by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Chief Kirillo Budanov continue in Pokrovsk, the official added.
Ukraine’s 7th Air Attack Corps also announced a successful landing in the Pokrovsk region. “It was a complex operation that required the synchronized actions of various forces.”
According to the corps, Ukrainian military units have managed to improve their tactical positions in several areas of the city. “We are increasing the number of raiding groups in Pokrovsk,” he said, adding that 85 Russian soldiers had been killed in Pokrovsk in the past week.
General Oleksandr Shirushkyi, the commander of Ukraine’s military, said on Saturday that Pokrovsk and the neighboring town of Mirnohrad were “not surrounded or blockaded and we are doing our best to maintain logistics.”
“Comprehensive operations are underway to destroy and eliminate enemy forces from Pokrovsk,” Silsky said, adding that he had visited the area to coordinate defenses.
Enemy forces continue to “infiltrate residential areas and try to cut off our supply routes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed on Saturday that its forces “continue to destroy the encircled Ukrainian military formations around the railway station” in Pokrovsk, and said they had repelled several attempts by Ukrainian troops to escape from the town. It added that the siege of Pokrovsk and Milnohrad was becoming more severe.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that about 200 Russian troops had entered Pokrovsk. Geolocated video shows Russian soldiers moving in small groups in the southern part of the town.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian forces attempted to counterattack and barely managed to advance north of the town.
If Pokrovsk falls, it will be the largest urban area occupied by Russian forces since they captured Bakhmut in May 2023. The town is a road and railway junction, and its capture would bring Russian forces closer to the major cities of the Donetsk industrial region, such as Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka.
According to an unofficial Ukrainian deep state website that analyzes the battlefield, Russian forces captured 267 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in October, the same amount as in September.
US President Donald Trump’s efforts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine have come to nothing, with the Kremlin insisting that the root causes of the conflict, including NATO’s eastward expansion and what it calls the “Nazification” of Ukraine, need to be addressed before a ceasefire can be reached.
The Russian government said the original goal of what it called the special military operation was non-negotiable: sovereignty over four eastern regions of Ukraine, including Donetsk.
As Russian forces advance along several parts of the front, Ukraine continues to launch long-range attacks aimed at destroying and disrupting Russia’s energy and military infrastructure.
On Friday, Ukrainian saboteurs blew up three fuel pipelines in the Moscow region, defense officials said. This is the latest attack in Kiev’s operation targeting refineries, pumping stations and pipelines.
According to a statement from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service (DI), the “Koltsvoy” oil pipeline, which was supplying the Russian occupation forces, was shut down on Friday in a special operation.
The company released images showing what appeared to be equipment installed on three separate pipelines near Ramenskoye, south of Moscow, which were placed under anti-drone netting. Video released by DI showed an explosion with flames spreading hundreds of meters into the air.
“All three lines used by the invaders to transport gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel were successfully blown up at the same time,” the DI said.
Unlike many recent attacks using drones and missiles, the Ukrainians used sabotage teams to plant explosives at the site, according to the DI video.
Russian authorities have not announced anything about the explosion or disruption to fuel supplies. However, local authorities in the nearby Zhukovsky district reported on Friday that some customers were without power, without specifying the cause.
The pipeline, which forms a ring around Moscow, is fed by several refineries. According to DI, it has the capacity to transport up to 3 million tonnes of aviation fuel, up to 2.8 million tonnes of diesel fuel and up to 1.6 million tonnes of gasoline annually.
Ukraine began continuously targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure in the summer, using long-range drones and missiles to attack facilities deep inside Russian territory.
“Our attacks had a bigger impact than the sanctions[against Russia],” Budanov said. “We have done far more damage to the Russian Federation through direct action than through any economic influence ever introduced.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this month that up to 20% of Russia’s refining capacity had been shut down and gasoline shortages were being reported in several Russian regions.
Russia is importing more fuel from Belarus to make up for the shortage.
