Zelenskys Frontline Visit: Strengthening Defenses in Strategic Pokrovsk

On Tuesday, President Volodyr Zelensky announced that he had visited military personnel stationed near the contested city of Pokrovsk, as Ukraine attempts to safeguard this crucial logistics center that has been under Russian threat for several months.

This fortified city, located in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, is situated along a key supply route for Ukrainian forces and has been a target for Moscow for over a year.

“I met with our brave warriors at the command post of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine ‘Azov,’ which is currently engaged in defensive operations in the Dobropillia area,” Zelensky posted on social media, referencing a town approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Pokrovsk.

“This is our land, this is our Eastern territory, and we will certainly do everything possible to keep it as part of Ukraine,” he emphasized.

Earlier this week, Kyiv reported that hundreds of Russian troops had infiltrated this logistics hub.

Furthermore, additional forces have been advancing towards its outskirts in a pincer movement, as detailed in battlefield maps released by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War.

On Tuesday, the Russian military announced that it was «tightening the encirclement around the enemy» in Pokrovsk and claimed to have taken control of several buildings in the area.

Over the weekend, Ukraine deployed special forces to strengthen the city’s defenses.

The capture of Pokrovsk would represent a significant propaganda victory for the Kremlin, which has dismissed U.S. requests to cease its nearly four-year invasion and has instead intensified its ground operations.

Prior to the conflict, the city was home to 60,000 residents, but it has since become a largely abandoned wasteland ravaged by war.

Originally established by far-right militants, the Azov Corps has since become a symbol of heroism in Ukraine, especially notable during the siege of Mariupol in 2022. The group now recruits individuals from a wider array of backgrounds beyond ultranationalist circles.