Ukraine’s General Staff rejected Kremlin claims on Tuesday that Russian troops had captured the key city of Pokrovsk, ahead of a visit to Moscow by U.S. envoy Steve Vitkov.
“Armed forces units of Ukraine are continuing defensive operations on difficult sections of the front line, including Pokrovsk, Vovchansk and Kupyansk,” staff said on Telegram.
The generals blamed Russia for announcing the seizure as Witkov visited Moscow on Tuesday as the Kremlin sought to show progress ahead of discussions on a potential peace plan.
Pokrovsk, an industrial center once home to some 60,000 residents, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Capturing the city would be the biggest setback for the Kiev front since the fall of Avdivka in February 2024.
But the Ukrainian military insists its forces continue to control areas along the railway line north of Pokrovsk.
Kiev says a group of Russian troops flying a Russian flag in an area of ​​the city has been destroyed. Additional supply lines are said to have been organized to support troops in the Pokrovsk region and the neighboring village of Mirnohrad.
Russia has been pushing hard in eastern Ukraine since the fall of 2023, taking heavy losses but also adjusting its tactics to advance in small infantry groups and avoiding the use of armored vehicles that are vulnerable to attacks by Ukrainian drones.
The United States has stepped up efforts to broker peace in recent weeks, and Vitkov will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday afternoon.
Discussions are expected to focus on U.S.-backed proposals to end the war.
The original 28-point peace plan was criticized as being too favorable to Moscow and has since been reworked by Washington’s European partners and Ukraine, but several points remain controversial.
Ground and air attacks from both sides continued amid the diplomacy, with Russia’s Orel region reporting fires caused by a Ukrainian drone strike on Tuesday.
No casualties were recorded in a fire at an energy plant in Livni district, governor Andrey Klychkov wrote on Telegram.
Unconfirmed video of the fire circulated on social media. Local residents said an oil depot was attacked, online portal Astra reported.
Kiev aims to disrupt its neighbor’s vital oil sector, intending to reduce supplies to the Russian military and limit a major source of revenue for Moscow.
But the number of casualties and damage in Russia is disproportionate to the damage caused by Russian troops in Ukraine.
