‘Elimination of the enemy continues in Pokrovsk,’ Ukrainian forces saypublished at 10:27 GMT
10:27 GMT
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Image source, ReutersImage caption,
Ukrainian soldiers, pictured here firing a howitzer near Pokrovsk on 23 November
The Ukrainian military has denied Russia’s claims that it
has captured the strategically important town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk
region.
“Search and assault operations and the elimination of
the enemy in urban areas continue in Pokrovsk,” Ukraine’s eastern military
command says in a
statement posted on social media, external.
“Taking advantage of unfavourable weather conditions,
the invaders made another attempt to ‘flag-plant’ in one of the city’s
districts so that propagandists could use it as proof that they had taken
control of the entire city of Pokrovsk.
“After that, they fled in a hurry, and the mopping up
of enemy groups continues,” it says.
Ukraine’s 7th Rapid
Reaction Corps has also issued a denial of Russia’s claims that Pokrovsk has
been captured.
“Despite the
difficult situation, defence forces continue to hold the enemy back,” it said on social media, external.
It also acknowledged
that Russian attacks on logistics routes in the area have made it more
difficult for Ukrainian forces to redeploy and to deliver supplies to them
Russia’s chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin, external that
Pokrovsk had been “liberated” during a meeting at an army command
post on 30 November.