Kiev denies fall of Pokrovsk as US envoy Witkoff due to visit Moscow

Kiev denies fall of Pokrovsk as US envoy Witkoff due to visit Moscow

DPA

Tue, December 2, 2025 at 2:36 PM UTC

2 min read

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with US special envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of Ukraine war talks. --/Kremlin/dpa

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The Ukrainian general staff on Tuesday denied the Kremlin's claim that Russian forces have captured the key city of Pokrovsk, ahead of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow.

"The units of the Ukrainian armed forces are continuing their defensive operations on the difficult sections of the front, including Pokrovsk, Vovchansk and Kupiansk," the staff said on Telegram.

The generals accused Russia of announcing the seizure with one eye on Witkoff's trip to Moscow on Tuesday, with the Kremlin seeking to showcase progress before discussions on a potential peace plan.

An industrial hub formerly home to some 60,000 residents, Pokrovsk has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The city's capture would represent Kiev's greatest setback on the front line since the fall of Avdiivka in February 2024.

But the Ukrainian military insisted that its forces continue to control the northern part of Pokrovsk, along the railway line.

A group of Russian troops that hoisted a Russian flag in one of the city's districts has been destroyed, Kiev said. Additional supply lines are said to have been organized to support units in the Pokrovsk area and the neighbouring village of Myrnohrad.

Russia has been grinding forward in eastern Ukraine since autumn 2023, absorbing heavy losses but adapting tactics by advancing in small infantry groups and avoiding using armoured vehicles vulnerable to Ukrainian drones.

The United States has stepped up its efforts to broker a peace in recent weeks, with Witkoff due to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday afternoon.

The discussions are expected to centre on a US-backed proposal to end the war.

An initial 28-point peace plan was criticized as too favourable to Moscow, and has since been reworked by Washington's European partners and Ukraine, though several points remain contentious.

Amid the diplomacy, attacks have continued on both sides both on the ground and in the air, with the Russian region of Oryol reporting a fire due to a Ukrainian drone attack on Tuesday.

Governor Andrey Klychkov wrote on Telegram that the fire broke out at an energy plant in the Livny district, with no injuries recorded.

Unverified videos of the fire circulated on social media. Local residents said that an oil depot was attacked, the online portal Astra reported.

Kiev is aiming to disrupt its neighbour's vital oil sector, intending to cut supplies to the Russian military and limit a key source of revenue for Moscow.

However, the number of casualties and the extent of the damage in Russia are disproportionate to the destruction caused by the Russian military in Ukraine.

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