Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that its forces were forced to withdraw from three villages in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, one of several areas Russia is trying to capture in its ongoing war that began with the February 2022 invasion.
The retreat came a day after Ukraine’s chief of staff warned that the security situation there had deteriorated, while Moscow continued advancing toward its main goal on the eastern front: taking the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk province, at the heart of the Donbas region.
‘Like Mad Max’: Russian soldiers storm Pokrovsk on motorcycles and car rooftops
(Video: Reuters)
Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top commander, said Russian progress in Zaporizhzhia was made possible by heavy fog that allowed President Vladimir Putin’s forces to slip closer to Ukrainian positions. He said Ukrainian soldiers were engaged in “exhausting battles” to repel the Russian assault.
Fierce fighting is also taking place in Pokrovsk, where Russian troops, after more than a year of combat, are closing in on full control. Several hundred Russian soldiers reportedly broke through the city’s defenses and are now battling Ukrainian forces in the streets.
Late Tuesday, Russian military bloggers, considered relatively reliable sources on the war from Moscow’s side, posted dramatic video footage showing Russian soldiers entering Pokrovsk. The chaotic scene drew wide attention online. Some troops were seen riding motorcycles and others perched on the roofs of broken-down cars as they advanced through the fog. The shattered vehicles and thick mist created a post-apocalyptic atmosphere that many viewers said looked like a scene from the movie “Mad Max.” Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed at the entrance to Pokrovsk.
Pokrovsk, once home to about 60,000 people, has served as a vital logistics hub for Ukraine’s military in Donetsk. The city is now largely destroyed, with only about 1,200 residents remaining. Capturing it would give Russia stronger control over Donetsk, of which only about 10% is still held by Ukraine, and open the way for further advances toward heavily fortified cities including Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka. According to CNN, Pokrovsk would be the largest city Russia has taken since it captured Bakhmut in May 2023. For Ukraine, its loss would be a serious blow to morale.
Syrskyi said Russia gathered about 150,000 troops for the Pokrovsk offensive, which began in mid-2024 and has advanced slowly while suffering heavy losses. Both sides have given conflicting accounts of whether the city is now fully encircled. Moscow claims it is, while Kyiv insists it can still deliver supplies to parts of the city.
Open-source intelligence suggests that Russia has been carrying out a pincer movement around Pokrovsk instead of attacking it directly, while Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in the nearby town of Dobropillia. The Kremlin hopes that capturing Pokrovsk will strengthen its position in possible peace talks.
Putin has rejected U.S.-backed proposals for an immediate ceasefire, demanding full control of the Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, as a condition for ending the war. Moscow on Wednesday urged Kyiv to return to negotiations in Istanbul. The last round took place July 23 and lasted only 40 minutes.
“The Russian delegation is ready. The ball is in Ukraine’s court,” said Russian diplomat Alexei Polishchuk.
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(Photo:: Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP Mandel NGAN and Maxim Shemetov / various sources / AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was using the heavy fog to launch new attacks on Pokrovsk. The situation there, he said, remains “difficult,” but he insisted that Ukrainian forces “continue to destroy the occupiers.”
Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a direct meeting with Putin, a summit also supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, but the Russian leader has dismissed the idea and said sarcastically that he would only be willing to meet the Ukrainian president “in Moscow.”