‘Occupiers Staged Another Flag Show’: Ukraine Pushes Back as Russia Claims Capture of Pokrovsk
Ukrainian forces said Tuesday that fighting is raging in Pokrovsk, a strategic logistics hub in Donetsk, despite Russia claiming the city after months of assault.
Moscow released a video Monday showing soldiers raising a flag over the town center. Ukrainian troops said the Russians who entered the area were pushed back.
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“Search and assault operations and the elimination of the enemy in urban areas continue in Pokrovsk,” the Eastern Military Command said.
The command accused Russia of staging the flag-raising for propaganda.
“The occupiers, taking advantage of dense fog, made another attempt at a ‘flag show’ in one area of the city, so propagandists could use it as proof of control over all of Pokrovsk,” it said.
“Attempts by the occupiers to create propaganda illustrations that they supposedly control the city are leading to significant losses of their personnel,” the Ukrainian military added.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited a command post Sunday, where Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov announced the “liberation” of Krasnoarmeysk and Volchansk.
Krasnoarmesyk and Volchansk are how Moscow refers to Pokrovsk and Vovchansk, in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, respectively.
The claim came ahead of a planned Tuesday meeting between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss a revised 28-point “peace” plan, which Russian officials reportedly helped draft.
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Ukraine Denies Russian ‘Capture’ Claims of 2 Villages in Lyman Sector
Kyiv has denied Russian claims of capturing Stavky and Novoselivka near Lyman in eastern Ukraine, calling the statements staged propaganda as heavy fighting continues in the area.
The original version reportedly required Ukraine to forswear NATO membership, cede territory, and limit its armed forces.
Kyiv and European negotiators have been working to make it less one-sided, though details remain undisclosed.
Pokrovsk, home to roughly 60,000 before the 2022 invasion, remains a major strategic prize.
Analysts say Russia’s battlefield claims are exaggerated. The Institute for the Study of War called Moscow’s narrative a “false story” aimed at pressuring the West.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Third Army Corps on Monday dismissed Russian claims of capturing villages near Lyman in the Donetsk region as “fictional achievements.”
