# Russian forces are tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the city of Pokrovsk. They have been trying to capture the transport and logistics hub for over a year. Moscow’s Defence Ministry says its soldiers had cleared 35 buildings of Ukrainian soldiers. Russian forces are also squeezing surrounded Ukrainian forces near the town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. This could give Moscow a platform to drive towards the two biggest remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the Donetsk region, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Russia tightens grip on two Ukrainian cities