According to Ukraine’s top commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russian forces are relentlessly attacking to advance towards Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in eastern Ukraine. Heavy fighting is ongoing across the entire front line.

Despite facing manpower shortages, Russian troops, bolstered by Western artillery supplies, have been making incremental gains. Syrskyi reported that Russia is concentrating its offensive on Pokrovsk, despite significant losses. Pokrovsk’s strategic location, less than 15 miles from Russian-occupied territory, makes it a crucial transportation point for both military and civilian needs.

Syrskyi also highlighted intense fighting in several eastern villages and towns, including Krasnohorivka and Chasiv Yar. Capturing Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop town, would bring Russia closer to threatening vital Ukrainian-held cities in the Donetsk region.

In the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military reported 39 assaults on the Pokrovsk front, part of a total of 117 attacks along the entire front line. Russian media, citing the Defense Ministry, reported that Russian forces captured two villages in the east over the weekend.

While Kyiv’s forces have been under pressure this year, Moscow’s progress has been slow. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba estimates that Russia currently controls 17.68% of Ukrainian territory, a slight increase from 17.61% at the beginning of 2024.

A senior NATO official recently stated that Russia lacks the resources for a major offensive in Ukraine and would need significant ammunition supplies from other countries. Meanwhile, Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s electricity system with airstrikes, causing widespread power outages.

Ukraine has employed domestically-made drones to attack targets in Russia and conducted a significant overnight strike that damaged the Tuapse oil refinery, Russia’s largest on the Black Sea. Syrskyi emphasized the importance of long-range strikes against Russian forces, echoing Ukrainian officials’ calls for allies to allow the use of Western-supplied weapons to target military installations within Russia.

Russia has warned that such attacks could escalate the conflict. Ukraine is also facing a shortage of short-range anti-aircraft missiles, which are crucial for countering Russian reconnaissance drones. Syrskyi stated that Ukraine is relying on for defense against these drones.