At a press briefing on December 9, General Syrskyi said Ukraine launched counterattacks beginning November 25 and has since reclaimed roughly 13 km² of Pokrovsk’s total area of 29 km², according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
“Initially, in the autumn, our troops were no longer present in Pokrovsk due to limited capabilities. However, as of November 25, thanks to combat operations, we have secured about 13 km² of the city,” he said.
👉 Get your “USA ’Merica Cat 4th of July” funny patriotic shirt today and show off your American spirit in the cutest way possible!
Syrskyi noted that Ukrainian forces “continue to hold the northern part of the city along the railway line” and “still control about 54 km west of Pokrovsk.” He added that “a few days ago,” he ordered Ukrainian troops to withdraw from positions 5–7 km from the city after Kyiv concluded there was “no reason to keep troops there any longer.”
He also cited Ukrainian estimates suggesting that Russia has reinforced its grouping toward Pokrovsk to as many as 145,000 soldiers.
Ukraine believes the Pokrovsk axis now accounts for 40–50% of all Russian special combat units (CAB) deployed on the ground and that Moscow considers this direction the primary battlefield.
During the briefing, Syrskyi also stressed that Ukrainian troops have ensured that the nearby town of Myrnohrad has not been encircled, despite Russian attempts to advance. He stated that Kyiv continues to maintain logistics routes to Myrnohrad, though the task is “highly complex.”
According to Syrskyi, the total length of the front line currently stands at 1,218 km, down 35 km from one month earlier.
He further claimed that in November alone, Ukraine’s drone forces inflicted losses of up to 24,000 Russian personnel, calling it a record figure.
Russia has not yet commented on Syrskyi’s statements.
Previously, on November 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Pokrovsk (called Krasnoarmeysk by Russia) and Myrnohrad had been “fully encircled.” On December 1, he visited a command post and thanked Russian troops for taking control of Krasnoarmeysk. On December 5, the Russian Defense Ministry reiterated that the city of Pokrovsk had been fully “liberated.”
Despite acknowledging the difficult situation, Ukraine has repeatedly denied that the strategic city has fallen into Russian hands.