Russia at the gates: How Ukraine defended a strategic city for months

FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces hides from a Russian combat drone in the frontline city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 13, 2025. Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

DONETSK REGION (Reuters) -For months, Ukraine has picked off Russian soldiers by the thousand around the frontline city of Pokrovsk, using small drones armed with bombs to tie down a numerically superior force.

Now though, Russian troops are creeping forward in a summer offensive that has probed weak spots in Ukraine’s defences and last week saw some Russian soldiers enter the city for the first time, according to footage on Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels and geolocated by Reuters.