Kathrine Frich
Throughout history, war has often been shaped by moments when soldiers find themselves cut off, with no clear path to retreat.
The language of surrender, survival, and siege has marked conflicts for centuries, revealing both the strategy and the desperation of those involved.
Encirclement claim
On Wednesday, Russia announced that Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk were surrounded and urged them to surrender, according to Reuters.
Moscow said Ukrainian troops were trapped and had “no chance to save themselves.”
Pokrovsk, sometimes called the gateway to Donetsk, has been a key target in the campaign to seize the Donbas region. Ukrainian forces still hold about one tenth of the area, roughly five thousand square kilometres.
Tactical changes
Reports cited by Russian and Ukrainian observers suggest that Russian troops used a two-pronged advance instead of direct frontal assaults.
Mobile units and drones were deployed to cut supply lines and disorganize Ukrainian defences.
Maps of the area show Russian positions within a few kilometres of a full encirclement of Pokrovsk, while in Kupiansk, Russian troops are said to control part of the city and the main approach roads.
Disputed accounts
The Russian Defence Ministry dismissed comments made earlier in the week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said his forces were clearing a small number of Russian troops from Kupiansk.
Moscow claimed instead that entire Ukrainian units were surrounded.
Ukraine’s military intelligence later released video and satellite images described as proof of “fierce fighting” in Pokrovsk, insisting that its positions were holding.
Situation in the east
Nearly four years after the invasion began, Russia continues to push deeper into the Donbas and neighbouring regions of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk.
Russian statements put their territorial control at about nineteen percent of Ukraine, while Ukrainian sources estimate Moscow captured more than three thousand square kilometres this year.
The battle for Pokrovsk and Kupiansk remains one of the most contested fronts, as both sides fight for control of eastern Ukraine.
Sources: Reuters, Digi24, DeepState, Ukrainian and Russian military reports
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, who may have used AI in the preparation
