VIDEO Mechanized assault of the Russians, of an unusual scale, in Pokrovsk. They threw armored vehicles, cars and motorcycles into battle. Footage of the fierce battle from within the city
A screenshot from a video recording shows the moment Russian forces claim to have taken control of the towns of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk region and Volchansk (Vovchansk) in the Kharkiv region on December 2, 2025. PHOTO: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Ukrainian forces are engaged in repelling a Russian mechanized attack of unusual scale in the strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, Kiev's military said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the US continues to pressure Ukraine to reach an agreement to end the war with Russia, writes Reuters.
Russian troops have been advancing in small groups of infantry for months trying to capture the former logistics hub, which is a key part of Moscow's campaign to capture the entire industrial Donbas region (made up of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces).
Russia claimed full control of Pokrovsk. Kiev claims control of the northern part of the city, where intense urban fighting has taken place.
“The Russians used armored vehicles, cars and motorcycles. The convoys tried to break through (the defensive lines) from the south to the north of the city,” the 7th Rapid Intervention Corps of the Ukrainian army said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
A source in the 7th Rapid Intervention Corps told Reuters that Russia had deployed about 30 vehicles, making it the largest such attack inside the city so far.
The source added that previously the Russian army had only deployed one or two vehicles to support the advance of its infantry troops.
Snow and mud in the ruined city
Russian forces tried to take advantage of the unfavorable weather conditions, but were repulsed, the Ukrainian military unit said on Facebook.
Images posted by the 7th Corps show heavy vehicles in snow and mud, as well as drone strikes on Russian troops, explosions and burning wreckage.
The capture of Pokrovsk would be Russia's biggest victory in Ukraine in almost two years.
The Russian troop advance has increased pressure on Kiev, as Ukrainian officials seek to reject a US-backed proposal for a peace deal widely seen as favorable to Moscow.
In the neighboring city of Mîrnohrad, where Russian forces are condoling their efforts to encircle Ukrainian troops, an operation to expand a logistics corridor was underway, the 7th Corps added.
A vital gas pipeline to Ukraine targeted by Russian attacks in the Odesa region
Russia has imposed its first fine for internet searches about “extremist” content. What the fined man wrote on Google
