Russia declared control of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) on December 1, after a prolonged campaign and was seen as an important step forward in the broader goal in Donbass.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the victory a meaningful victory, as the Krasnoarmeysk region was once a logistics hub of the Ukrainian army in Donetsk, with a network of roads and railways connecting many locations along the route.
The city had about 60,000 people before the conflict, but now there are only a few people left between the destroyed buildings and depleted infrastructure. The region's largest technical university has been left vacant, while Ukraine's only coal mine located 10km away has stopped operating.
Controlling Krasnoarmeysk helps Russia expand its ability to advance towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two major cities still held by Ukraine in Donetsk. From there, Russia hopes to create advantages to strengthen the argument that controlling the rest of Donetsk is inevitable and put pressure on Kiev to accept a concession in negotiations.
Some Western experts say that Krasnoarmeysk is of great value to Russia, although Russian forces are still far from the goal of controlling the entire Donetsk region.
The war has dragged on around Krasnoarmeysk for more than a year as Russia has adopted a holding strategy rather than direct attacks, using small computers and drones to cause trouble before launching large troops.
Ukraine says Russia is suffering a lot of losses, while Russia believes that the delay is to reduce casualties. The attack phase was also delayed due to Ukraine's raid on the Kursk region.
The control declaration was broadcast on Russian television, with soldiers stationed flags in the central region of the rubble. Commander Valery Solodchuk reported to the President that Russian units are continuing to approach around Krasnoarmeysk and Myrnohrad, where he said thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are stranded. Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had repelled more than 40 attacks in the region.
