Russian forces advance on Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk

The Russian military is threatening to cut off key supply lines to Ukrainian forces on the eastern front, indicating that Vladimir Putin's troops are advancing. According to the Associated Press, Russian forces are bypassing the important logistics hub of Pokrovsk, a move that could weaken Ukraine's defenses, which have been holding back Russian offensives.

Major Viktor Tregubov, a local Ukrainian army spokesman, stated that Russian forces are targeting a highway leading to the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This route is crucial for supplying Ukrainian troops throughout the region. Cutting off traffic on this highway would also severely weaken the forces in Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian forces are under immense pressure along the roughly 1,000-kilometer front line, particularly near Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated in his nightly video address to the nation on Sunday that the fighting near Pokrovsk has been "most intense" in recent days.

Ukrainian forces have been under immense pressure in recent months, with troop strength depleted after nearly three years of war since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Additionally, US President-elect Donald Trump is set to enter the White House next week. Trump had promised before his election to end the conflict in 24 hours. However, his peace envoy, General Keith Kellogg, stated last week that Trump wants to end the conflict within 100 days of taking office.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has declined to comment on claims that Ukrainian forces have captured North Korean soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is willing to exchange two captured North Korean soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners of war. The Russian government has neither denied nor confirmed reports that thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to its border region of Kursk to help Moscow repel the Ukrainian invasion. Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies suggest that at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers may be fighting on the front lines.

Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense treaty last year. On Monday, South Korean politician Lee Sung-kyu said that about 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed while fighting in Ukraine and about 2,700 have been wounded. Also on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine launched nine attack drones at a gas compressor station in the village of Gaikodzor, near Russia’s southern Black Sea coast, on Saturday. “All drones were shot down,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel on Monday.

“As a result of the fall of fragments of one of the drones, the building and equipment of a gas metering station were slightly damaged,” the statement said. The ministry added that supplies were not disrupted and that the facility was operating normally. The accusation—which Kyiv has not commented on—comes amid an escalating energy dispute between the two countries. On January 1, Ukraine ended a transit agreement that allowed Russian gas to flow through Ukraine to Europe.

The US and the UK announced new sanctions last week targeting Russia’s energy sector, including Russia’s “shadow” tanker fleet.