Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its soldiers were destroying what it described as surrounded Ukrainian formations near Pokrovsk’s railway station and industrial zone, and had entered the city’s Prigorodny area and dug in there.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

The Ukrainian military said Russian troops were not in full control of any district of the city.

“The invaders continue to attack in small groups of up to five soldiers, without using armored vehicles,” the operation task force responsible for Ukraine’s eastern front line said

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