Russian forces launched a large-scale assault on several key Ukrainian strongholds this week, marking a deepening collapse of Ukrainian defenses in the eastern front. On Thursday, Russian troops began storming the town of Novopavlivka, located on the border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Verified footage circulating on social media shows Russian units controlling roughly one-fifth of the town’s southern sector.
Novopavlivka has long been considered a critical Ukrainian position, guarding the southern approaches to Pokrovsk—one of Kyiv’s most important logistical and defensive hubs in eastern Ukraine. While Russian forces reached the town’s outskirts earlier this year, the current offensive marks the first concerted push to seize it outright.
Simultaneously, Russian troops have entered the eastern sector of Lyman, in northern Donetsk. The city, a key transport and supply hub, was initially captured by Russia in May 2022 but retaken by Ukrainian forces during Kyiv’s counteroffensive later that year. Its renewed assault signals Moscow’s intent to cut supply lines to nearby Seversk, another embattled Ukrainian stronghold now under heavy attack.
Despite mounting evidence of territorial losses, Ukrainian officials have sought to downplay reports of a front-line collapse. General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, visited the Pokrovsk front on Thursday, denying Russian claims that Ukrainian troops there were encircled.
President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, announced a five-to-six-hour ceasefire window for foreign journalists to enter Pokrovsk and “verify the situation themselves.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the proposal, arguing it was a propaganda ploy. Analysts suggest Zelensky’s refusal reflects the precarious position of Ukrainian forces and the optics of admitting such vulnerabilities.
Video released Wednesday appeared to show a Russian flag raised over the northwestern entrance to Pokrovsk—where Zelensky himself had been photographed earlier in the summer. Subsequent footage reportedly showed Ukrainian forces deploying drones to destroy the flag, underscoring the fluid and contested nature of the battlefield.