Russian forces are entrenched in the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk

Russian troops are carrying out a concerted push in eastern Ukraine and have entrenched in the strategic center of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Moscow’s troops are outnumbering Kiev 8-1 in the area and Ukraine cannot match that, Zelensky added, insisting that Russia has not yet “achieved the intended result”.

For two years, Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk. The key supply and transport hub provides supplies and reinforcements to the eastern front – and would bring Moscow closer to occupying the entire Donetsk region.

In addition, the cities of the heavily fortified “fortress belt” – Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka – will be more easily accessible from Moscow.

Zelensky said drone images showed about 200 Russian troops were in Pokrovsk.

Describing the situation as “difficult”, he said earlier that there was widespread fierce fighting and “sabotage groups” had entered the city.

However, he dismissed reports by Russia’s Chief of General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, that Ukrainian troops were completely surrounded.

In an update on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had surrounded Ukrainian troops around the central railway station and cleared the city’s Troyanda neighborhood of Ukrainian forces.

One soldier from Ukraine’s 155th Brigade, Artem Pribylnov, rejected the idea that Ukrainian troops were surrounded in a “cauldron” at Pokrovsk.

“But warfare has changed and is now very technological,” he said.

In previous attacks, there was a path from the cauldron through which troops could enter and exit, he said, but now drones control the access points, making it “extremely dangerous.”

“Perhaps this is why the Russians claim to have surrounded Pokrovsk, even though there is no physical encirclement of the city?” he suggested.

According to Captain Grigoriy Shapoval, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern task force, 79 attacks have been repulsed since Monday near Pokrovsk – almost a third of the total of 218 attacks registered along the entire front line.

He said Russian troops had concentrated large numbers of troops and equipment near Pokrovsk and were using armored vehicles to cover their infantry.

“So it’s hard to stop them,” he said.

He added that Kiev troops normally use drones to counter Russian advances, but foggy and rainy weather conditions have made it difficult to detect and destroy infantry troops.

The situation in and around Pokrovsk is an example of the high cost of moving the front line forward, even by just a few meters.

Last week, Ukrainian media reported that Russian forces were engaged in street fighting and targeting Ukrainian positions, including drone operators.

Away from the cities, drone technology means that both Russian and Ukrainian forces are able to strike each other deep on either side of the front line.

The full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022 is almost in its fifth year. Currently, Moscow’s troops occupy about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Kiev’s defense capabilities are shrinking and Zelensky said Ukraine needs financial support from its European allies to continue fighting Russian forces for another two or three years.

European leaders have so far failed to divert 140 billion euros worth of Russian frozen assets to Ukraine, a move that requires complex legal machinations and was blocked by Belgium at an EU summit last week. The proposal will be reviewed in December.

Zelensky said he told his European counterparts that while Ukraine “will not be at war for decades … you have to show that for some time you will be able to provide stable financial support to Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian president also said he hoped the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday would lead to a decision by China to reduce its support for Russia.

Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, two major Russian oil companies, and called on Turkey and China to halt purchases of Russian oil in a bid to put economic pressure on the Kremlin.

“I think this could be one of (Trump’s) strong moves, especially if after this decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports” from Russia, Zelensky told reporters earlier this week.