Russian activity is intensifying around a key Ukrainian city, the army chief said

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces has warned that Russian activity is increasing around the key frontline city of Pokrovsk, saying “the situation is difficult”.

General Alexander Sirsky acknowledged that Russian infantry were massing in the area and said he had visited the front line himself for talks with key commanders.

But he said reports that Ukrainian troops were “blocked” there by Russian forces were “false” propaganda.

There are increasing reports of The Russians are advancing around the strategic city in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. It forms a key transport and supply hub and its capture could unlock Russian efforts to conquer the rest of the region.

In a statement on Telegram, General Sirsky said: “In Pokrovsk, the enemy infantry, avoiding combat, are massing in the urban area and changing their locations, so the main goal is to identify and destroy them.”

He added: “The situation is difficult, but Russian propaganda claims about the supposed ‘blockade’ of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Pokrovsk, as well as in Kupyansk, are false.”

He said commanders must maintain a “reasonable balance between objectives and capabilities.”

“The main priority is preserving the lives of our soldiers,” he added.

Russian forces have been trying to capture Pokrovsk for more than a year. Taking it would give them a path to capturing the two largest cities still controlled by Ukraine in the region – Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia’s chief of general staff, General Valery Gerasimov, said earlier this week that Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk were surrounded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Pokrovsk was the “primary target” for Russia, whose forces there he said outnumbered Ukrainians eight to one.

He told reporters that Russia wanted to seize the city to convince the United States that Ukraine was on the run.

“They don’t have a result that they can ‘sell’ to the Americans.” We understand why they need Pokrovsk. They only need it to claim that Ukraine is withdrawing from the east and giving everything else they want,” Zelensky said.

In its latest assessment, defense intelligence firm Sybelline said the battle for Pokrovsk “has entered an extremely dynamic and intense phase as Russian forces intensify their efforts to penetrate the city and encircle Ukrainian defenders.”

Deepstate, a Ukrainian monitoring group, said Russian forces were “gradually engulfing Pokrovsk” with (their) sheer number of personnel.

It said Russian troops were pushing deeper into the city and cutting off Ukrainian supply routes.

“The situation in Pokrovsk is on the brink of crisis and continues to deteriorate to the point where it may be too late to fix anything,” the group concluded.