BIG twist in Russia-Ukraine war as Russia set to capture Ukraine’s main stronghold in…, Moscow’s Battlegroup East disrupts…

Russia-Ukraine war: In a major twist that could potentially determine the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian forces are poised to capture Pokrovskoye, one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds in the south Donetsk area.

Will Russia capture Pokrovskoye?

According to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency, it has obtained objective control footage showing that Battlegroup East have significantly disrupted Ukrainian logistics in the strategic region.

“Scouts from a tank brigade of Battlegroup East made it through to Pokrovskoye, one of the Ukrainian armed forces’ defensive strongholds in the south Donetsk area. Operational and tactical aircraft, backed by drones, significantly disrupted the Ukrainian army’s logistics in Pokrovkoye, which is no longer a city far from the frontline,” TASS quoted a Russian security official as saying.

The official said Russia’s 11th Guards Army’s aircraft carried out airstrikes using FAB glide bombs, while drone operators destroyed two out of the three bridges across the Volchya River, particularly using the Knyaz Vandal fiber optic unmanned aerial vehicle.

What did Zelenskyy say?

Russia’s push in Pokrovskoye comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Moscow had deployed more than 170,000 troops in the Donetsk region, calling the situation in the stronghold “difficult”.

Addressing a media briefing in Kyiv on Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called the situation in Pokrovskoye “difficult”, but rejected Moscow’s claims about Russian troops completely surrounding the battle-ravaged city. Zelenskyy acknowledged that some Russian units had infiltrated the city, but insisted that invaders are being weeded out by Ukrainian forces.

“There are Russians in Pokrovsk, They are being destroyed, gradually destroyed, because, well, we need to preserve our personnel,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

Moscow blames Kyiv for prolonging conflict

Meanwhile, Moscow has accused Kyiv of responding to any attempts at a political and diplomatic settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict with terror.

“Any attempt at a political and diplomatic solution to find a settlement – Kiev, on the one hand, declares in its rhetoric how they strive for peace, on earth they demonstrate the exact opposite,” Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on the sidelines of the 3rd Young Diplomats Forum “Mercury-2025,”

Miroshnik said such actions are “a direct and understandable response to any peace initiatives proposed by the international community, and this is Zelenskyy’s reaction. This is why their statements about the desire for peace are fake, and what is happening on earth is true.”

(With inputs from agencies)