Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
The country's Defence Ministry said its soldiers were destroying what it described as surrounded Ukrainian formations near Pokrovsk's railway station and industrial zone, and had entered the city's Prigorodny area and dug in there.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
The Ukrainian military said Russian troops were not in full control of any district of the city.
"The invaders continue to attack in small groups of up to five soldiers, without using armored vehicles," the operation task force responsible for Ukraine's eastern front line said on Facebook.
Ukraine's 7th Rapid Response Corps said Ukrainian forces had thwarted an attempt to cut off a supply route from Rodynske, to the north.
Pokrovsk had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people, but most civilians fled its ruins long ago. Capturing it could give Moscow a platform to drive towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the two biggest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the Donetsk region which Russia wants to capture in its entirety.
North of Pokrovsk, however, Ukraine has recorded recent gains near Dobropillia. Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said his forces had stepped up pressure there with the aim of forcing Russia to divert its focus away from Pokrovsk.
Kyiv's troops have advanced near the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillia, recapturing 188 square kilometers held by Russian forces as well as a further 250 square kilometers previously controlled by neither side, Ukraine's army chief said on Monday.
Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region with a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. Most people have now fled, all children have been evacuated and few civilians remain amid its pulverised apartment buildings and cratered roads.
Ukraine's only mine producing coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry - is around six miles (10 km) west of Pokrovsk. Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest said in January it had suspended mining operations there.
The city lies on a key road which has been used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled outposts.
A technical university in Pokrovsk, the region's largest and oldest, now stands abandoned, damaged by shelling.
If it falls, Pokrovsk will be the most important Russian territorial gain inside Ukraine since Moscow took the ruined city of Avdiivka in early 2024 after one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 21st of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 22nd of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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ASEAN foreign ministers opened the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on 21 July, launching four days of talks that run until 24 July. The agenda includes South China Sea tensions, Myanmar’s conflict and growing U.S.-China rivalry.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand has renewed calls for an immediate de-escalation and permanent ceasefire in the Middle East while she warned that the humanitarian situation had become "quite grave". Anand also raised concern over tensions in the South China Sea.
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