Pokrovsk has been dubbed a "fortress" city, key for Ukraine's logistics and a long-time stronghold for Kyiv in the east.

Russia has been steadily gaining in Ukraine but has focused its efforts on advancing in the country's eastern Donetsk region.

A map produced by the Institute for the Study ... The highway then links to Dnipro, one of Ukraine's major cities. Russia's defense ministry said on Sunday that its forces had captured the village ...