Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad remain well-fortified Ukrainian defensive hubs, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Oleksandr Syrsky said.
“The defense of Pokrovsk has been going on for 16 months. The Russians have announced at least six dates for taking control of the entire Donbas. They have not taken it,” he told journalists, as cited by Ukrainian media.
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Syrsky stressed that Myrnohrad is not encircled, though logistics there are difficult but still functioning.
He revealed that this fall there was a moment when Ukrainian troops were no longer present in Pokrovsk, but a subsequent counteroffensive allowed them to regain ground.
According to Syrsky, Russia continues to build up its forces in the Pokrovsk sector, where roughly 156,000 Russian troops are now concentrated.
He said the Pokrovsk direction accounts for half of all guided aerial bombs (KABs) used by Russia along the front line, calling it the main theater of operations.
Syrsky also confirmed that Ukrainian forces recently pulled back from positions located 5 to 7 kilometers from Pokrovsk.
“A few days ago, I gave the order to withdraw our servicemen from positions 5 to 7 kilometers from Pokrovsk, which still remained there,” he said, adding that those positions could not be rotated and were being penetrated by Russian forces.
Further defending them, he added, “was not advisable.”
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Russian troops register killed soldiers as AWOL to hide losses, while Ukrainian forces repel urban attacks and secure supply routes in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.
“We must protect the lives of our servicemen,” Syrsky added.
Russian commanders are reportedly hiding real losses in the Pokrovsk area by registering dead soldiers as absent without leave (AWOL), the partisan movement Atesh claims.
Agents inside Russia’s 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade say the unit keeps separate lists recording hundreds of killed soldiers as deserters, telling troops that listing them as AWOL is “easier than explaining to relatives where the body is.”
The practice, according to Atesh, has grown significantly over the past year and is used both for troops killed in chaotic assaults and those shot by Russian barrier units.
Serhiy Lefter, a communications officer with the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of Ukraine’s Airborne Assault Forces, told RBC Ukraine that Russia has recently moved operational reserves to intensify the battle for the Pokrovsk – Myrnohrad urban area, confirming Ukrainian monitoring of the buildup since late November.
Lefter said Russian troops have entrenched themselves in southern parts of Pokrovsk, while the northern districts remain under Ukrainian control. With no stable front line, Ukrainian forces continue clearing operations in contested neighborhoods.
He described Russian infantry advancing “openly through fields” and suffering heavy losses, noting that since early December Ukrainian troops have eliminated dozens of Russian soldiers and destroyed most armored vehicles attempting to enter the city.
Earlier, on Nov. 27, Syrsky said Ukrainian troops had managed to clear about 11.5 square kilometers (4.4 square miles) of Russian forces in Pokrovsk – more than a third of the city’s territory.
That same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed his forces had captured 70% of Pokrovsk. On Dec. 1, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to Putin that Pokrovsk had been fully occupied.
Despite Russian claims and staged videos showing flags raised in the town center, Ukrainian forces say those units were pushed back.
Kyiv’s military accused Moscow of fabricating control of the city for propaganda purposes ahead of high-profile political meetings.
Independent analysts, including the Institute for the Study of War, have dismissed Russia’s claims of capturing Pokrovsk as exaggerated or false, part of a broader effort to pressure Western governments as fighting intensifies in Donetsk.