Russian Forces in Ukraine Near First Major Conquest in More Than Two Years
Russia’s troops have advanced inside the city of Pokrovsk, but the progress has been costly. Ukraine says it is resisting.
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Artillerymen firing an M114 self-propelled howitzer.
Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade is fighting Russian troops in Pokrovsk, Ukraine. Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters
By
Ian Lovett
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and Nikita Nikolaienko
Russia is close to capturing Pokrovsk, a city in southeastern Ukraine, which would be its most significant territorial gain in more than two years.
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Russia’s army is on the verge of its biggest Ukrainian conquest in more than two years. But the potential prize, a devastated city strewn with corpses, points to what could be a more important battle than the one for territory: Which side will bleed out of military resources first?
As the war approaches a fifth year, Russia is betting that its military machine, fed by its vast industrial capacity and much-larger population, will eventually overwhelm its western neighbor. Ukraine is seeking to deplete those resources and relying on Western allies to keep it funded and armed.
That battle has played out in the past two years around the southeastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, once a mining hub with a population of around 60,000. Russia has thrown infantry into deadly assaults along tree lines and through villages around the city, while Ukraine has used explosive drones to keep them at bay.
Russian troops now outnumber Ukrainian soldiers inside the city, and their drones dominate the skies overhead, according to Ukrainian troops there. Military analysts say it could fall within weeks. The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its troops were advancing north through the city and clearing out Ukrainian troops that it said were cut off in Pokrovsk and its environs.
