Reports from the Ukrainian front lines have clashed with official statements from Kyiv. Soldiers of the 7th Air Assault Corps told local media that the situation in Mirnograd is far more precarious than described by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky.

According to these servicemen, Syrsky continues to insist that Mirnograd is not encircled, yet they argue that this claim does not reflect the reality on the ground. They say the command is attempting to pull troops out of the city but is losing personnel in what they describe as a «grey corridor».

Syrsky had previously stated that Ukrainian forces still hold 30 percent of Pokrovsk in the north and that Mirnograd remains outside a full encirclement.

Meanwhile, Russian military correspondents report that Russian forces are striking concentrations of Ukrainian fighters in the besieged city with missile attacks, while FPV drones are being used to target individual Ukrainian soldiers. Assault units of the 5th Brigade of the Russian «Center» group are said to be clearing buildings in the Eastern and Western districts.

Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, has also outlined the broader objective: following the capture of Pokrovsk, the «Center» grouping has been tasked with eliminating the Ukrainian units surrounded in Mirnograd. He noted that the southern part of the city has already been fully taken and that more than 30 percent of Mirnograd is now under Russian control.