Russia Deploys 110,000 Troops Near Crucial Ukrainian Location, Kyiv Alleges

Russia has deployed around 110,000 troops near Pokrovsk, intensifying efforts to capture the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, according to Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi. He described Pokrovsk as the fiercest battleground along the 1,200-kilometre front line.

Despite nearly a year of relentless offensives, Russian forces have failed to seize the city, which sits on critical supply routes and is key to Kyiv’s defensive line in the Donetsk region. President Vladimir Putin views the full capture of Donetsk and Luhansk as a central war aim.

Though much of Pokrovsk’s pre-war population of 60,000 has fled, the area remains symbolically and logistically significant. Its importance grew as Ukraine’s last working coking coal mine operated there until earlier this year.

Ukrainian defenses, bolstered by integrated drone warfare and tactical regroupings, have stalled Russia’s direct assaults. A surprise Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region reportedly forced Moscow to redirect over 70,000 troops—including North Korean fighters—away from Pokrovsk.

Now, instead of frontal attacks, Russian troops are attempting to encircle the city from the south and northeast. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian units are resorting to small, mobile fireteams using motorcycles and buggies in continued attacks.

Syrskyi warned that Russia’s goal extends beyond tactical gains: “They seek a psychological victory—planting a flag and claiming success, even if it’s hollow.”