The situation is becoming increasingly difficult for Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Pokrovsk in the east of the country, which has been defended for more than a year.

Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers are reporting that more and more Russian soldiers are advancing into the city center from the south.

The Russians are fighting Ukrainian units in street battles and attacking their supply routes with drones and mortars, writes DeepState, a Ukrainian blog close to the military.

Pokrovsk had a population of about 60,000 before the war. The city is now heavily damaged. The Russian advance has also made it almost impossible to defend the Ukrainian bridgehead to the east around the city of Myrnohrad.

With the help of about 11,000 men, Russian forces are trying to surround Pokrovsk, the 7th Corps of the Ukrainian army said on Facebook.

On the front in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have been slowly advancing since the fall of 2023. They are capturing territory while suffering heavy losses.

Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. However, during the fighting this year, Russian units occupied just 0.6 percent of Ukrainian territory, according to the US Institute for War Studies (ISW).

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, visited a military hospital in Moscow. The situation in the battle zone is favorable for Russia, he said. Russian units are advancing everywhere.

"Your efforts are not in vain," Putin told the wounded soldiers.