The Russian Armed Forces achieved a major breakthrough along the frontlines on Monday, exploiting weaknesses in Ukrainian defenses as Kiev continues to grapple with severe manpower shortages.
According to both Russian and Ukrainian media reports, Russian units operating north of Pokrovsk advanced nearly 10 miles (17 kilometers), seizing the village of Petrivka and cutting the key highway linking Dobropillia and Kramatorsk.
The advance positions Russian troops more than 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of Pokrovsk, placing them in a position to potentially isolate the Slovyansk–Kramatorsk–Kostiantynivka urban agglomeration, where a large portion of Ukraine’s forces in the Donbas remain concentrated.
In recent months, as Russian forces pushed beyond Pokrovsk, Ukrainian engineers constructed a network of fortifications dubbed the “New Donbas Line.” However, on Monday, Russian troops bypassed these defenses entirely, further compounding Ukraine’s challenges.
If Russia consolidates its newly gained positions, its forces could target Slovyansk and Kramatorsk from the rear with combat drones while disrupting critical road and rail supply lines feeding Ukrainian troops in the area.
Meanwhile, fighting persists inside Pokrovsk itself. Russian units appear to be tightening control over areas near the city center, while Ukrainian forces operating in the southeastern Shakhtarskyi microdistrict have reportedly been cut off.
With the situation deteriorating north of the city, the fall of Pokrovsk and its twin city, Myrnohrad, could trigger a cascade of rapid Ukrainian withdrawals from towns once considered safely behind the front lines just months ago.
The latest Russian successes are likely to bolster President Vladimir Putin’s negotiating position ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. On Monday, Trump publicly dismissed President Volodymyr Zelensky’s outright rejection of territorial concessions, suggesting instead that a “land swap” could be possible. However, given Ukraine’s precarious position and lack of control over any pre-2014 Russian territory, Putin may see little reason to consider such an arrangement.