Russian troops are making a concerted push in eastern Ukraine and have gained a foothold in the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.
Moscow's soldiers outnumber Kyiv's 8-1 in the area and Ukraine cannot match that, Zelensky added while insisting Russia had not yet achieved the planned result.
Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk for two years. The key supply and transport hub provides supplies and reinforcements to the eastern front - and it would get Moscow closer to occupying the entirety of the Donetsk region.
It would also put towns of the heavily fortified fortress belt - Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka - within easier reach of Moscow.
Zelensky said drone imagery showed that around 200 Russian soldiers were inside Pokrovsk.
Describing the situation as difficult, he said earlier that there was widespread fierce fighting and sabotage groups had entered the town.
However, he rejected reports by Russia's Chief of General Staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, that Ukrainian troops had been completely surrounded.
In an update on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces had encircled Ukrainian troops around the main railway station and cleared the city's Troyanda district of Ukrainian forces.
One soldier from Ukraine's 155th Brigade, Artem Pribylnov, disputed the notion that Ukrainian troops had been encircled in a cauldron at Pokrovsk, saying the war had changed significantly with more advanced technology involved.
According to Capt Hryhoriy Shapoval, spokesperson of Ukraine's East operational group, Russian troops have concentrated a large number of forces near Pokrovsk and have utilized armored vehicles to cover their infantry.
The situation in and around Pokrovsk exemplifies the high cost of shifting the front line forward, even by a few metres. Ukrainian media recently reported on street battles and targeted attacks by both sides.
As the war approaches its fifth year, Zelensky has highlighted the urgent need for stable financial aid from European allies to maintain Ukraine's defense capabilities, amid calls for complex legal maneuvers to divert frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
