• Moscow claims Russian forces 'entered and consolidated' positions inside city’s Prigorodny district
  
  ISTANBUL

Ukrainian and Russian forces reported new advances and heavy fighting Monday near the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, with Kyiv claiming the liberation of 188 square kilometers (72 square miles) in the Dobropil salient while Moscow said its troops “entered and consolidated” positions in the city’s Prigorodny district.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in a statement on Facebook that 248.7 square kilometers (96 square miles) were also cleared of enemy reconnaissance and sabotage groups during the operation.

“We are strengthening the troops with additional units, weapons and equipment, including unmanned systems. We are increasing pressure on the Dobropil salient. We are continuing to liberate and clear territories, which forces the enemy to disperse its forces and makes it impossible to concentrate its main efforts in the Pokrovsk area,” Syrskyi noted.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces, 83 combat clashes occurred along the front line since morning, with over a third taking place in the Pokrovsk sector.

The military said Russian forces carried out 32 assault attempts in and around Shakhove, Fedorivka, Myrnohrad, Rodynske, Pokrovsk and neighboring villages, with Ukrainian defenders repelling 28 of them.

“Our forces stopped the expansion of the presence of Russian troops in the northern part of Pokrovsk. The cutting of the road connecting Pokrovsk and Rodynske was not allowed,” Ukrinform quoted the statement as saying.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian defenses repelled several Russian attacks in the Kostyantynivka, Lyman and Slovyansk directions. Russian aircraft struck Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka and several settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Russian artillery also targeted border settlements in Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, while six airstrikes were carried out in the North Slobozhansk and Kursk directions, according to Ukraine’s military.

The General Staff reported that the enemy used 13 guided bombs and launched 57 artillery attacks, including one from a multiple launch rocket system.

Russia, meanwhile, said earlier in the day that it advanced in Pokrovsk, noting that its forces “entered and consolidated” positions in the city’s Prigorodny neighborhood and continued fighting near the railway station and industrial zone.

Moscow has repeatedly asserted territorial gains in its offensive toward the embattled city, while Ukrainian authorities maintain that the situation remains under control.

Pokrovsk serves as a critical logistics hub for Ukraine’s military operations in the Donetsk region.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said it launched overnight airstrikes targeting Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, energy infrastructure and repair sites.

Ukrainian authorities meanwhile reported overnight airstrikes across various regions, including the northeastern Sumy region, where one person was killed in the settlement of Trostianets, as well as the southern Mykolaiv region, where energy infrastructure was damaged and power cuts were recorded in 12 settlements.

Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure in recent months as winter approaches.

Ukraine's General Staff claimed in an earlier statement that it launched an overnight drone strike on the Saratov Oil Refinery, hitting the facility.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin had warned about a drone attack threat in the region but made no mention of the facility or any consequences from the attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry separately said that its air defenses intercepted 64 Ukrainian drones overnight, of which 29 were downed over the Saratov region.