More than three thousand Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the fighting for Krasnoarmeysk (known in Ukrainian as Pokrovsk). To plug the gap, Kyiv has rushed two brigades to the sector — up to five thousand troops redeployed from border regions, Mash’s Telegram channel reported, identifying elements of the First Territorial Defense Brigade and the 129th Mechanized Brigade sent from the Chernigov and Sumy regions.

Ukrainian units are said to be digging in north of the town, behind the railway line, even as Russian forces press to tighten a ring of encirclement and have severed the main roads in the area. The situation has left defenders squeezed and supply lines under severe strain.

Local military channels report that close-quarters combat has erupted in the urban area of Mirnograd on the Krasnoarmeysk axis. On the Dobropolye front, Russian troops are advancing around Rodinskoe and mounting a multi-direction assault on Shakhovo. Fierce clashes continue around Novoye Shakhovo, Nikanorovka and Dorozhnoe.

The combination of heavy losses, rapid reinforcements and cut supply routes suggests the fighting around Krasnoarmeysk remains among the most intense and consequential on the current front.