Ukraine Russia Presses Toward Pokrovsk with 110,000 Troops Amid Stalemate, Kyiv Warns

[Social Media]

 

Russia Presses Toward Pokrovsk with 110,000 Troops Amid Stalemate, Kyiv Warns

 

Russia has concentrated a formidable force of 110,000 troops near the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, according to Ukraine’s top military commander, as Moscow continues its drawn-out campaign to seize full control of the Donetsk region.

 

General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s military chief, described Pokrovsk as the “hottest spot” along the 1,200-kilometre front line stretching across eastern Ukraine. Despite a year of continuous offensives, Russian forces have yet to break through and claim the city. “The enemy’s capture of Pokrovsk, announced back in September 2024, has not yet taken place, thanks in part to our Kursk operation,” Syrskyi said.

 

Pokrovsk holds strategic significance for both sides in the war. Though not a major urban center, its location on a key supply road and rail line makes it critical for logistics and military coordination. Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Pokrovsk had a population of approximately 60,000. Most residents have since fled, particularly after Ukraine’s last functioning coking coal mine in the city was shut down earlier this year. Its closure prompted even more departures, as the workers who had remained to keep the mine running also left.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that a primary objective of the war is to fully capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where Russian forces already hold significant territory. Kyiv and Western allies believe Moscow is intentionally dragging out negotiations in an attempt to seize more land through military force.

 

“[The Russians] want to do this not only to achieve some operational results, but primarily for demonstrative purposes,” Syrskyi said. “To achieve a psychological effect: to put the infamous ‘foot of the Russian soldier’ there, plant a flag and trumpet another pseudo-‘victory.’”

 

According to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukraine’s resistance in Pokrovsk has forced Moscow to revise its original strategy. A planned frontal assault on the city was abandoned in favor of a gradual encirclement from the south and northeast. The ISW attributed this shift to the increasing effectiveness of Ukrainian drone warfare, noting that Kyiv’s forces have integrated drone operators directly with infantry units to strengthen their defensive posture.

 

While Russian troops possess numerical and equipment advantages, they have faced logistical limits in increasing their presence around Pokrovsk. One factor cited was Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion into Russia’s southern Kursk region, which temporarily diverted some 63,000 Russian troops and 7,000 North Korean fighters away from eastern Ukraine.

 

“This allowed us to weaken the enemy’s pressure on the main fronts and regroup our troops,” Syrskyi explained.

 

In their latest analysis, ISW reported that Russian assaults continue in the region, often executed by small fireteams—sometimes only one or two soldiers—using unconventional vehicles such as motorcycles, buggies, and all-terrain vehicles. These tactics suggest a shift toward more mobile, flexible attacks in an attempt to find vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s layered defenses.

 

Despite mounting pressure, Pokrovsk remains under Ukrainian control, a symbol of resistance in a grinding conflict where victories are measured in meters rather than miles. Whether Russia can maintain its current level of troop concentration, or Ukraine can continue to hold out amid a prolonged war of attrition, remains uncertain.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from CNN  2025-06-30

 

 

[DonniePeverley]

How does this nonsense end ?

[dinsdale]

Russian troops continue to take ground and June is looking like the greatest gains yet. I'm not sure how this can be called a "stalemate".

[Jim Blue]

Next U.S. president ?

[TedG]

24 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

How does this nonsense end ?

With the Russian economy collapsing. 

[TedG]

1 minute ago, dinsdale said:

Russian troops continue to take ground and June is looking like the greatest gains yet. I'm not sure how this can be called a "stalemate".

In three years the Russians made it to Berlin.   

[dinsdale]

1 minute ago, TedG said:

In three years the Russians made it to Berlin.   

This is a war of attrition so it's not linear and it's not a stalemate. 

[Quentin Zen]

Russia, can you hear me, stop.   OK, i tried.  Back to my Chang.  

 

Now I'm not responsible for anything.  I did my best.

[dinsdale]

A balanced analyses of May/June focusing on Sumy Oblast which Russian forces have moved into. Definitely doesn't show a stalemate. The eastern front is also moving west in favour of Russian troops and once again is not a stalemate.

 

[dinsdale]

1 hour ago, TedG said:

In three years the Russians made it to Berlin.   

From the above article and something I've said many times.

4 hours ago, Social Media said:

victories are measured in meters rather than miles.

 

[thaibreaker]

5 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Russian troops continue to take ground and June is looking like the greatest gains yet. I'm not sure how this can be called a "stalemate".

Russians have been trying to take over Pokrovsk for more than a year now, and even early last autumn, it was only a matter of days before Pokrovsk were overtaken, the media said. But they were wrong. The heroes of Ukraine have been holding the fort for all this time, against all odds, so yes, there has definitely been a stalemate outside of Pokrovsk.

[Eric Loh]

6 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

Russians have been trying to take over Pokrovsk for more than a year now, and even early last autumn, it was only a matter of days before Pokrovsk were overtaken, the media said. But they were wrong. The heroes of Ukraine have been holding the fort for all this time, against all odds, so yes, there has definitely been a stalemate in this area.

The war has been a statemate. Probably the war will end in a stalemate with no formal ceasefire or peace agreement.  

[thaibreaker]

3 hours ago, dinsdale said:

A balanced analyses of May/June focusing on Sumy Oblast which Russian forces have moved into. Definitely doesn't show a stalemate. The eastern front is also moving west in favour of Russian troops and once again is not a stalemate.

 

 

Hold your horses. In Sumy oblast the Ukrainian army is pushing back. This is per definition looking a lot like a stalemate.

 

 

 

[thaibreaker]

5 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

How does this nonsense end ?

Trump (Mr. "Ukraine should never have started this war") has had the key to that all along, but he is too weak, and has abandoned Ukraine.  

Zelenskyy's treatment in the White House is the most embarrassing I've ever seen. Trump and his administration have been in the pockets of Putin a long time, and really don't care about the outcome in Ukraine.

 

President Biden was everything Trump is not, and the presidental switch has been a disaster for Ukraine. But they will hold stand, Russia is severely weakened now as well.

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

Trump (Mr. "Ukraine should never have started this war") has had the key to that all along, but he is too weak, and has abandoned Ukraine.  

Zelenskyy's treatment in the White House is the most embarrassing I've ever seen. Trump and his administration have been in the pockets of Putin a long time, and really don't care about the outcome in Ukraine.

 

President Biden was everything Trump is not, and the presidental switch has been a disaster for Ukraine. But they will hold stand, Russia is severely weakened now as well.

Trump has done worse than abandoning Ukraine. He has actively supported Russia.

That said, Biden was indeed much better and not a traitor like Trump, but he was very afraid of Putin's nuclear threats, and never helped Ukraine enough to have any chance of winning. Only enough to hang on. 

[thaibreaker]

16 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

The war has been a statemate. Probably the war will end in a stalemate with no formal ceasefire or peace agreement.  

Agree. As long as the Russian demands are too crazy to be accepted by Ukraine, this will probably not end with a peace agreement. A cease fire one day, of course, but it's per now difficult to see any solution here, unless Russia willingly accept a different agreement, or withdraw because of internal affairs, a coup or an economical collapse.

[Eric Loh]

3 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

Agree. As long as the Russian demands are too crazy to be accepted by Ukraine, this will probably not end with a peace agreement. A cease fire one day, of course, but it's per now difficult to see any solution here, unless Russia willingly accept a different agreement, or withdraw because of internal affairs, a coup or an economical breakdown.

Will be like North and South Korea armistice. Technically still at war but not a peace treaty. But don't see this happening under Putin. He has to go one way or the other for a truce in fighting. 

[thaibreaker]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Trump has done worse than abandoning Ukraine. He has actively supported Russia.

That said, Biden was indeed much better and not a traitor like Trump, but he was very afraid of Putin's nuclear threats, and never helped Ukraine enough to have any chance of winning. Only enough to hang on. 

True. By stop supplying Ukraine with what they have needed the most, Trump has definitely helped and supported Russia. By ordering to stop the US intel for a while too, Trump made a lot of damage.

 

Biden, and his European allies, would not have been afraid of Russia's nuclear threats today, if he (or Kamala) still was president. Europeans aren't afraid of them anymore, this war has shown that the threats were only their desperate use of words . China would never let Russia use them, and Russia knows perfectly well that any nuclear use from Russia, would turn their own country into dust. The UK and France wouldn't hesitate to use theirs in respond, even if the US wouldn't.