Ukrainian forces block Russian advance on key eastern town

KYIV, Ukraine – Reinforced Ukrainian defenders in a key location on the front have halted what had been relentless Russian advances in eastern Ukraine, according to soldiers and battlefield maps. But Russia continued to advance elsewhere, and pressed on Saturday with long-range bombardment of more distant cities.

After a night of explosions and rattling antiaircraft fire in the capital, Kyiv, debris from Iranian-designed attack drones was discovered in the city’s government quarter, near the parliament building.

It was unclear whether the drones had targeted the building or were shot down in its vicinity. Falling debris, from the exploding drones or antiaircraft missiles, started a grass fire. No damage was reported to the parliament.

In the east, a Russian offensive toward the Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, which has become a focal point of the war in recent months, has stalled along one key section of the front for more than a week, even as advances continued elsewhere, soldiers fighting in the area said. Battlefield maps based on open sources such as satellite images and videos posted online also showed the halt.

Still, the fighting in villages and fields east of the town, which is a logistical hub for Ukraine’s defense of the eastern Donbas region, remains fluid, and there was no indication that the large Russian force gathered in the area had abandoned its goal of advancing toward the town.

In a risky, surprise effort to ease pressure on troops on the eastern front, Ukraine last month launched an attack into Russia over a thinly defended stretch of the Russian border, quickly capturing more territory inside Russia than Russia has in nearly a year of its offensive in eastern Ukraine. But speaking at an economic forum Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said the Russian army would not divert forces from Ukraine’s Donbas region, which he called the army’s “first priority,” to defend Russia land.

Ukraine has reinforced its troops in the area around Pokrovsk with soldiers from two brigades, both of which posted videos and statements showing their presence near the city in the past three days. At least one brigade had been moved from another section of the front line, potentially weakening defenses there.

“The Pokrovsk direction was a surprise,” a tank commander identified only by a nickname, Kisliy, is shown saying on a video posted Wednesday by Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade. “It was a first for me and my crew.” The brigade had been deployed south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut.

Another unit, the 12th brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard, posted a statement on Telegram on Friday saying soldiers had deployed to Niu-York, a town along the northern edge of the Russian advance toward Pokrovsk.

“When the brigade was deployed to the area, the situation on the front line was catastrophic,” the statement said. “Despite the intense combat, our soldiers are holding the line.” The statement said soldiers were staging local counterattacks in the area, one of the flanks of the Russian advance toward Pokrovsk.

Russian forces had moved swiftly toward the city through August, pushing over open fields and small villages in a westward direction.

That advance directly toward Pokrovsk stalled a week ago near the town of Selydove, battlefield maps show.

But the Russian advance did continue in a southerly direction, where the Russian army has nearly encircled a pocket of Ukrainian-held territory between the cities of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.

The commander in chief of the Ukrainian army, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, told CNN in an interview broadcast Thursday that Ukraine had stabilized defensive lines and that Russia’s attack toward Pokrovsk had not moved “a meter.” He did not discuss Russia’s movement in the southerly direction.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.