Ukraine facing fierce fighting around eastern city of Pokrovsk, Zelenskiy says
Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, told a meeting of senior officials that the situation around Pokrovsk was the current focal point of its attention in the war, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022.
"All operational directions were covered, with particular focus on Pokrovsk. It receives the most attention," Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian forces, he said, were also "continuing to act" in border areas in the northern Sumy region, where Russian troops have gained a foothold in recent weeks.
Syrskyi, in a separate report on the Telegram messaging app, described Pokrovsk and five other sectors as among the most difficult theatres along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front.
"The Russian Federation is paying the maximum price for attempting a 'summer offensive,'" Syrskyi wrote.
Russian forces have for months been trying to close in on Pokrovsk, a road and rail hub whose pre-war population of about 60,000 has been all but evacuated.
Syrskyi in May reported that Kyiv's troops had stabilised the situation around the town, also the site of the only colliery in Ukraine producing coking coal for the country's steel industry.
Russia's Defence Ministry on Thursday announced the capture of two villages on either side of Pokrovsk -- Zvirove to the west and Novoekonomichne to the east. A third village near the city -- Novotoretske -- was declared by Moscow to be "liberated" earlier in the week.
Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that the villages have changed hands. The General Staff of Ukraine's military said in an evening report that two of them -- Zvirove and Novoekonomichne - were in areas where Russian troops were trying to penetrate Ukrainian defences.
In Sumy region, where Russian troops are trying to establish what Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin calls a "buffer zone", the popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState said Kyiv's forces had retaken a previously lost village.
DeepState, which relies on open source reports to track the presence of Russian forces, said Ukrainian troops had restored control over the village of Kindrativka. There was no official comment from either side.
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He promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office and clearly that has not happened. 'Now he's threatening to impose sanctions if Putin doesn't declare a ceasefire and come to the negotiating table to discuss peace.' While the location of the subs is unknown, the US Navy has 71 nuclear-powered submarines in its fleet, all of which can travel thousands of miles without resurfacing. By comparison, the Russian Navy fields fewer than 30 nuclear‑powered submarines. Military experts said Mr Trump will most likely have deployed two Ohio -class vessels. Each is armed with up to 20 Trident II D5 missiles that can deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads with a range of up to 7,000 miles. Sources last night told the Washington Post that Russia is 'seeking clarity' from America about Mr Trump's 'actions and intentions', with Russian officials scrambling to assess the significance of the subs' deployment. 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Fire breaks out after a Russian attack at the 3 private house and one apartment building as the emergency officials work at the area in Kherson, Ukraine on August 2, 2025 A source close to the President told the MoS: 'Trump is running out of patience with Russia. He promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office and clearly that has not happened' 'The number of Russian nuclear submarines in the world's oceans is significantly higher than the American ones, and the subs that US President Donald Trump ordered to be redirected to the appropriate regions have long been under their control,' he said yesterday. 'So no response from the Russian Federation to the American leader's statement about the submarines is required.' Retired US Marine Colonel Mark Cancian called Mr Trump's announcement that he had sent subs steaming towards Russian waters 'highly unusual'. He said: 'This is signalling in its purest form.' Others urged restraint, saying Mr Medvedev does not speak for Putin. Oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, now a Putin critic living in London, said: 'When you see his [Mr Medvedev's] latest apocalyptic tweet about turning European capitals to dust, remember: this isn't strategic communication from the Kremlin. It's the rambling of a man drowning his terror in vodka.'
