Russian troops are making a concerted push in eastern Ukraine and have gained a foothold in the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.
Moscow's soldiers outnumber Kyiv's 8-1 in the area and Ukraine cannot match that, Zelensky added while insisting Russia had not yet achieved the planned result.
Russia has been trying to capture Pokrovsk for two years. The key supply and transport hub provides supplies and reinforcements to the eastern front - and it would get Moscow closer to occupying the entirety of the Donetsk region.
It would also put towns of the heavily fortified fortress belt - Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka - within easier reach of Moscow.
Zelensky said drone imagery showed that around 200 Russian soldiers were inside Pokrovsk.
Describing the situation as difficult, he said earlier that there was widespread fierce fighting and sabotage groups had entered the town.
However, he rejected reports by Russia's Chief of General Staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, that Ukrainian troops had been completely surrounded.
In an update on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had encircled Ukrainian troops around the main railway station and cleared the city's Troyanda district of Ukrainian forces.
One soldier from Ukraine's 155th Brigade, Artem Pribylnov, rejected the notion that Ukrainian troops had been encircled in a cauldron at Pokrovsk.
According to Capt Hryhoriy Shapoval, spokesperson of Ukraine's East operational group, 79 attacks had been repelled near Pokrovsk since Monday - almost a third of the total 218 assaults recorded across the entire front line.
The situation in and around Pokrovsk exemplifies the high cost of shifting the front line forward, even just by a few metres. The ongoing conflict shows no signs of abating, with both sides concentrating their forces and using advanced technology to gain the upper hand.
Last week, Ukrainian media reported that Russian forces were engaging in street battles and targeting Ukrainian positions, including drone operators.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also expressed the need for continued financial support from European allies to sustain Ukraine's defense against Russian forces.
