Moscow Intensifying Attacks in Eastern Ukraine: Kyiv Military

Russian troops have sharply stepped up their attacks in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's military said on Feb. 16, as a NATO official predicted Moscow would increase the pace and intensity of its assaults as negotiations to end the war approach.

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The main attacks were concentrated near the imperiled logistics hub of Pokrovsk, Kyiv said, with U.S. and Russian officials expected to hold talks in the coming days in Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for peace.

Kyiv's military reported 261 combat engagements with Russia over a 24-hour period on Feb. 15, easily the largest number recorded in 2025 and more than double the roughly 100 per day it reported in previous days.

"Today was the hardest day of 2025 at the front," the Ukrainian Deep State military blog wrote late on Feb. 15.

A late evening report by the military on Feb. 16 showed the number of engagements over a 24-hour period had declined to 117. Thirty-eight occurred in the Pokrovsk sector, with one still going on.

Russia's military on Feb. 15 reported the capture of the village of Berezivka, north-east of Pokrovsk.