Russian forces roll Mad Max-style into battered Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk

Russia said its forces had pushed deeper into the eastern Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk on Nov 11, with one video showing Russian soldiers rolling into Pokrovsk on motorcycles and even sitting on the roofs of battered cars and vans.

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Russian soldiers entering the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in this screen grab off a social media video released on Nov 10. Ukraine's military said about 300 Russian soldiers were now inside Pokrovsk. PHOTO: REUTERS

(REUTERS)

Moscow says taking Pokrovsk, dubbed "the gateway to Donetsk" by Russian media, would give it a platform to drive north towards the two biggest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the Donetsk region - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Russia has been threatening Pokrovsk for more than a year, using a pincer movement in an attempt to encircle it and threaten supply lines rather than the deadly frontal assaults it employed to capture the city of Bakhmut in 2023.

Ukraine's military said about 300 Russian soldiers were now inside Pokrovsk and that Moscow had intensified efforts to get more troops in over the past few days, using dense fog for cover.