Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces also captured the town of Vovchansk, south of Kharkiv.
Russian forces say they have captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub that has been under siege for nearly two years.
The Kremlin announced the news in a Telegram post on Monday, citing Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. The post said the eastern Ukrainian city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region has also been captured by Russian forces.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Gerasimov delivered the news of the “liberation” to Russian President Vladimir Putin late Sunday, when the leader visited a front-line command center, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Pokrovsk is a major transportation hub in the Donetsk region, one of four regions of eastern Ukraine that Russia claims to annex.
The city, once home to 60,000 people, has been heavily bombarded by Russian drones, artillery and bombs in recent weeks, reducing many buildings to rubble.
Ukraine has not yet confirmed Russia’s capture of the city, but Reuters reported that Moscow was broadcasting a video of troops marching through the streets of Pokrovsk and waving the Russian flag.
According to the TASS news agency, Putin later congratulated the Russian military on their victory.
“I want to thank you and the entire command and personnel of the battle group for the results of your work in relation to Krasnoarmeysk,” Putin said, using the Russian name for Pokrovsk. “Of course, the fighters, our people, who are carrying out these combat missions,” he said, according to TASS.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting with US and European leaders this week to negotiate an end to the war.
He said on Monday that one of his top priorities was to avoid making territorial concessions to Moscow that would legalize Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukrainian territory.
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