Pokrovsk has been dubbed a "fortress" city, key for Ukraine's logistics and a long-time stronghold for Kyiv in the east.

Vladimir Putin was dealt a blow with Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk oblast but his forces ended the year with momentum in the Donbas.

Russia's advances in Ukraine have stalled everywhere but in Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub, battlefield maps show ... on Sunday showing a Russian flag in southern Zavitne, located southeast ...