Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had seized the cities of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region and Vovchansk in Kharkiv region during a visit by the Russian leader to a command post on November 30, reported DW.

According to the Kremlin readout, commanders of Russia’s “Centre” and “East” military groupings, Valery Solodchuk and Andrei Ivanaev, also reported taking control of the southern part of Myrnohrad in Donetsk region and launching an operation to capture the town of Hulyaipole in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukraine immediately disputed the claims. In its evening briefing, the Ukrainian General Staff said fighting in the Pokrovsk direction was ongoing, reporting 49 Russian assault and offensive actions on November 29, across settlements including Novoe Shakhovo, Doryzhne, Nikonorivka, Bilytske, Rodynske, Myrnohrad, Pokrovsk and Udachne. “Battles are currently under way in five locations,” the statement said. It also cited clashes near Vovchansk, without mentioning any withdrawal from positions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in Paris after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on December 1, denied that either Pokrovsk or Vovchansk had fallen, while warning that the situation there and in other sectors “remains difficult”.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said Russia’s statements amounted to “raising the stakes in diplomacy” for Western audiences. He insisted Vovchansk and Kupiansk — another city Russia previously claimed to have seized — remain under Ukrainian control.

Independent OSINT mapping projects tracking the front line have not shown full Russian control of either Pokrovsk or Vovchansk. However, Ukraine’s DeepState project recently reported an acceleration in Russia’s territorial gains, estimating that Russian forces took 134 sq km in early November — twice the area gained in October.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War has said Russia’s advance near Pokrovsk has been aided by months of drone strikes targeting Ukrainian logistics in rear areas, as well as weather conditions — fog and heavy precipitation — that have complicated Ukrainian defence efforts.