The Russians are pushing with full force to gain a foothold in Pokrovsk. The city is becoming a “gray zone,” characterized by unpredictability and uncertain control, says Ukrainian soldier known as Hus from Ukraine’s 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade, according to Kyiv24.

Strategic gateway to the entire Donetsk Oblast

Capturing Pokrovsk would give Russian forces a major logistical hub, opening access to key cities such as Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Kostiantynivka, and Druzhkivka.

This would enable Russian forces to intensify their pressure and expand control across Donetsk Oblast, moving closer to seizing the entire region.

Infiltration from the south and fierce fighting for every Block

According to Hus, Russian infiltration is currently taking place from the southern and southwestern parts of the city, with Russian troops focusing their efforts on securing positions in the southern districts.

“The enemy is being detected almost in every block and neighborhood, moving in small groups of several fighters,” he said.

The soldier noted that the situation remains unstable as certain positions may change hands several times.

“We can’t speak of any stable control by the enemy at this point — the entire city is essentially a gray zone,” he emphasized.

Encirclement plan meets resistance

Hus explained that Russian forces are attempting a two-pronged advance to encircle Ukrainian defenders and "close the pocket."

“They’re pushing hard from the west toward Hryshyne, from the southwest on one side, and from the northeast near Rodynske and Chervonyi Lyman, where heavy fighting continues,” he explained.

The occupiers are attempting to converge from both directions and seal the pocket, but they are still far from achieving this goal. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his soldiers an ambitious task. Mykola Malomuzh, former head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service and Army General, says he has ordered his forces to seize Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and the entire Pokrovsk agglomeration by 15 November, Kyiv24 has reported.

Putin wants to dictate the terms amid Trump's change of stance 

“Putin’s strategic goal is to demonstrate that he can conquer specific territories ... especially after Trump’s shift in stance and his meeting with Xi Jinping, showing that he can dictate the terms,” Malomuzh explains.

The general emphasizes that the Kremlin seeks a political effect, aiming to project success domestically while signaling power abroad.

Putin sends 17,000 troops to Pokrovsk

According to Malomuzh, Putin has redeployed around 17,000 soldiers to assault Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. Russian forces are attempting to cut Ukrainian supply lines and create a “model of encirclement or semi-encirclement.”

Strikes on morale and energy infrastructure

Malomuzh adds that attacks on civilian infrastructure are part of a broader campaign to weaken Ukrainian morale, disrupt the economy, and pressure the international community to scale back its support for Kyiv.

“Another goal is to showcase Russia’s weaponry, including nuclear arms,” he says.

Earlier, Ukraine’s monitoring project DeepState reported that Russian forces from the 170,000 grouping continue infiltrating Pokrovsk. As of the evening of 2 November, the occupying troops advanced even further into the city. 

The Ukrainian Defense Forces are holding back Russia's assault, having already repelled 36 attacks, conducted active operations, and achieved certain successes. In some areas, our units have advanced up to 0.4 kilometers, as per the General Staff. 

Russian forces are intensifying operations around Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, aiming to seize the town as fighting shifts to close-quarters battles under worsening weather, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports. According to the report, geolocated footage confirms recent Russian advances in both central and southeastern Pokrovsk, while Ukrainian troops say Russian units have infiltrated neighboring towns and established near-total fire control over Myrnohrad’s supply route.

Russian troops advance into urban core of Pokrovsk

ISW assessed on 1 November that Russian forces recently pushed deeper into central and southeastern Pokrovsk. Geolocated footage posted on 31 October and 1 November shows Russian troops advancing along Berezina Street in central Pokrovsk and on the M30 highway in the southeastern part of the city. Russian milbloggers went further, claiming advances in areas the footage does not support — including northeastern Pokrovsk and northeast of Kotlyne, southwest of the city.

A senior Ukrainian officer told Ukrainian outlet Hromadske on 31 October that Russian troops are currently operating in about 60% of Pokrovsk and have entered Rodynske to the north and Myrnohrad to the east. Meanwhile, geolocated video confirms Ukrainian forces still hold or recently regained ground in central Rodynske — a location where Russian sources earlier claimed control.

Russian redeployment shifts pressure to Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad

On 1 November, the chief sergeant of a Ukrainian brigade in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka area, northeast of Pokrovsk, reported that Russian forces significantly reduced attacks there following a failed mechanized assault on 27 October. The officer suggested the drop in activity indicates Russia redeployed troops to strengthen its offensive on Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.

A Ukrainian drone operator working in Pokrovsk told Hromadske that Russian units are isolating some Ukrainian positions through infiltration. A spokesperson for a Ukrainian brigade in the area confirmed logistics have become “complicated” but said Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) remain uncut.

A Ukrainian officer said Russian forces have near-total fire control over the narrow road supplying Myrnohrad.

Weather, infiltration, and drone combat reshape the Pokrovsk front

ISW emphasized that fog, rain, and urban terrain are disrupting both Russian and Ukrainian drone operations while shaping infiltration tactics. A Ukrainian officer told Hromadske on 31 October that infantry on the front line rarely engage in direct combat. Instead, Russian forces target drone and mortar crews operating in near rear positions.

The same officer stated that constant Russian infiltrations are forcing Ukrainian drone crews to shorten their flight times and prepare for direct combat, often engaging infiltrators with small arms. Ukrainian units have reportedly been forced to pull back their second echelon drone operators, reducing their capacity to strike Russian forces on Pokrovsk’s outskirts.

One Ukrainian drone pilot said control over high-rise buildings is now decisive. Both sides are fighting for rooftops and elevated terrain that allow operators to hit enemy GLOCs from up to 30 kilometers away.

Russian leaders keep claiming non-existent major battlefield victories in Ukraine, yet these boasts are being publicly dismissed even by pro-war Russian milbloggers, who describe the situation on the ground as chaotic and accuse the military leadership of inflating results, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on 26 October.

Putin and Gerasimov outline sweeping operations

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov have continued to issue claims of major battlefield victories while reaffirming the Kremlin’s intent to capture all of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

ISW says Putin held a meeting on 26 October with Gerasimov and commanders of Russia’s groupings of forces. The event drew attention because Putin appeared in military uniform—only the third such appearance since the start of the full-scale invasion and just weeks after the previous one on 16 September. During his report to Putin, Gerasimov said Russian forces were continuing operations to seize all territory within the four illegally annexed Ukrainian oblasts.

He further claimed that Russian forces from the Western Grouping had ostensibly encircled Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast. According to him, detachments from the 68th Motorized Rifle Division crossed the Oskil River south of the town and, together with units from the 47th Tank Division and 27th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 1st Guards Tank Army, had allegedly cut off Ukrainian troops on the eastern bank. Gerasimov stated that 18 Ukrainian battalions were trapped in Kupiansk.

He also declared Russian progress in the northeast and east of Ukraine, including the seizure of more than 70% of Vovchansk, completion of fighting in Yampil, and the capture of Dronivka and Pleshchiivka. Gerasimov said Russian troops continued urban fighting in Siversk and Kostiantynivka.

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Russian milbloggers openly challenge the official version

Several Russian milbloggers said the claims of encirclements in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk were false. One wrote that a wide corridor still separates Russian groups west and north of Pokrovsk, while another pointed out that Russian fire control over Ukrainian supply lines does not mean a full encirclement.

Others highlighted the porous nature of the front and said that Russian forces often declare towns captured while Ukrainian troops still hold positions there. One described the situation in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk as “100% chaos.” Another blogger said Gerasimov was “getting ahead of himself again,” predicting that the general expected reality to eventually align with his optimistic reports. That same source argued that the exaggerated claims were meant to influence US President Donald Trump by giving him the impression that Ukrainian forces faced collapse.

"Gerasimov similarly presented exaggerated territorial claims in late August 2025, including about Kupiansk, that Russian milbloggers heavily criticized," ISW wrote.

Overnight on 26 October, Russians killed three people, including a 19-year-old woman and her 46-year-old mother, and injured 31 civilians, among them seven children, in Kyiv. Their attacks in other regions left at least five more civilians dead and 18 injured, local authorities reported. Russia launched 101 strike drones overnight, and Ukraine’s Air Force said it destroyed or suppressed 90 of them.

Kyiv under fire for the second night

For the second consecutive night, Russia targeted residential neighborhoods in Kyiv. A kamikaze drone hit a nine-story apartment building in the Desnianskyi district, collapsing floors between levels and sparking multiple fires.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said the Russian attack on Kyiv injured 31 civilians in total, seven of them children. Three people were killed, including a young 19-year-old woman and her 46-year-old mother, the Interior Ministry reported.

According to the Emergency Service, rescuers evacuated dozens of residents, pulling several people from burning homes. Over 100 rescuers and police officers, supported by more than 20 emergency vehicles, worked through the night to extinguish the fires and clear the rubble. Search operations ended with no more people found under the debris.

Residents described the night to Suspilne as terrifying.

“There was heavy smoke, everything flew apart. It was very scary,” said Yelyzaveta, whose fifth-floor apartment balcony burned down. “We barely escaped, my child, husband, and dog. We were breathing through wet towels.”

Another resident, Illia, said he heard “the sound of a Shahed, then a powerful explosion” and saw firefighters rescuing a small girl from the building.

Several other districts of the capital were also hit. In the Obolonskyi district, debris from a drone struck a 16-story apartment building, shattering windows but causing no casualties. In the Darnytskyi district, fragments damaged fences and a car in a private residential area.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Russia’s goal was to cause maximum civilian suffering.

“Russia strikes residential quarters so that as many civilians as possible are harmed. The enemy’s tactic is terror, the goal is pain and suffering,” he wrote. He added that psychologists had already provided assistance to about 150 people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 100 drones were launched by Russia during the night, targeting ordinary apartment buildings.

“Every Russian strike is an attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on normal life,” he said, adding that Ukraine continues to defend itself on all fronts and praised new sanctions imposed by the EU and the US against Russia.

Other Russian attacks across Ukraine

• In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russians killed a 63-year-old man and injured another person when they bombed the village of Rivnopillia in the Huliaipole community, regional head Ivan Fedorov reported.
• In Donetsk Oblast, two civilians were killed and one injured in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka and the Kostiantynivka community, according to Suspilne Donbas.
• In Kherson Oblast, three civilians were injured in Russian artillery and drone attacks. A Russian drone dropped an explosive on a woman in Kherson, causing shrapnel and head injuries, while a 71-year-old woman in Antonivka was wounded after stepping on Russian explosives, the oblast administration said.
• In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian forces attacked with missiles, drones, and artillery, killing two people and injuring eight, regional authorities reported.
• In Kharkiv, a family of five, including two children, suffered acute stress reactions after a drone attack late in the evening, according to Suspilne Kharkiv.
• Russia also attacked Sumy Oblast with drones, guided bombs, and rocket systems but caused no civilian casualties.
• In Chernihiv, a drone strike hit a company’s premises, setting a truck on fire, but no injuries were reported.

Air Force: 90 out of 101 drones destroyed

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia attacked overnight from multiple directions, including Kursk, Oryol, Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and the occupied Hvardiyiske airfield in Crimea. Around 60 of the 101 Russian drones were explosive Shaheds, alongside decoy Gerbera and other types. Ukrainian aviation, air defense, and mobile fire units intercepted or suppressed 90 of them.

Debris and direct hits were recorded at several locations, including in Kyiv.

The Air Force warned that several Russian drones were still in the air at the time of reporting, around 9:00.