Kyiv, Ukraine —

Small groups of Russian troops have pierced parts of Ukraine’s defenses in its eastern Donetsk region , according to local officials and monitoring groups, adding to Kyiv’s complications as Russia attempts to encircle the key strategic city of Pokrovsk.

Russian forces are making a push towards Dobropillia, the Ukrainian battlefield monitoring group DeepState reported Tuesday. The town is around 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Pokrovsk, which has been in the Kremlin’s crosshairs for months.

Ukrainian officials conceded that their defenses near Dobropillia had been infiltrated by clusters of Russian forces, but stressed that this involved small numbers of troops and did not mean Russia had taken control of territory.

Although Russia has attempted to push towards Pok

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