Russian troops continue pushing deeper into the urban areas of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, where intense fighting is taking place.

In Mirnograd, Russian assault units broke through into the 8th District on the city’s northeastern outskirts. At the same time, fierce clashes are unfolding in the southern part of the city, near the 5/6 mine, where Russian paratroopers had previously landed.

In Pokrovsk, Russian forces have significantly reinforced their positions and now reportedly control a large part of the city. Evidence of this came when Ukrainian fighters used an FPV drone to destroy a Russian flag mounted on a monument at the city’s western edge — an indication that Ukrainian infantry is no longer present in that area.

Local sources also report Russian advances toward the Karakovsky district, as well as confirmed presence of Russian troops on the northern outskirts, near the Dinasovsky neighborhood.

Observers note that the situation for Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk now mirrors previous encirclements in Bakhmut, Avdeevka, and Sudzha, where defensive positions gradually collapsed into pockets with narrow retreat routes. Movements along these routes reportedly come at catastrophic cost.

According to reports, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Alexander Syrsky has personally arrived in the area, pledging to restore the situation after a briefing with Vladimir Zelensky. So far, however, he has not ordered a withdrawal from the encircled zone.