Putin Claims 2 Key Ukrainian Cities Surrounded By Russian Troops, Ukraine Denies

Last Updated:October 30, 2025, 13:41 IST

Putin claimed Ukrainian troops are encircled in Pokrovsk, a key stronghold in the eastern Donetsk, and in Kupiansk, an important rail junction in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian forces in two key eastern cities of Ukraine and offered to negotiate a deal for their surrender. However, the Ukrainian military officials have vigorously denied the claim.

It has been learnt that Putin, while speaking at a meeting with wounded soldiers at a Moscow military hospital, suggested that the Russian military was ready to open safe corridors for Ukrainian and Western journalists to “let them see with their own eyes what’s going on".

The Russian President claimed Ukrainian troops are encircled in Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, and in Kupiansk, an important rail junction in the northeastern Kharkiv region, according to Associated Press.

While Russia is pushing its significant advantage in troops and weapons at key points along the around 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, the Ukrainian armed forces said claims of Kupiansk being surrounded are “fabrications and fantasies".

The spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern forces, Hryhorii Shapoval, said that the situation in Pokrovsk is “hard but under control".

The Ukrainian Army’s 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, which is defending Pokrovsk, said Russia had deployed some 11,000 troops in a bid to encircle the city. Some Russian units had managed to infiltrate Pokrovsk, it acknowledged in a social media post.

Earlier, the Russian officials claims about capturing Ukrainian strongholds have turned out not to be true. However, independent verification of the claims was not possible.

Putin’s comments coincided with his diplomatic efforts to persuade the United States, which is seeking a peace deal to end the war, that supporting Ukraine is pointless because it can’t hold out against Russian military superiority.

Putin on Wednesday indicated that Russia is open for a deal for the Ukrainian troops in the two cities to surrender. A media visit to the areas would allow reporters to see “the condition the encircled Ukrainian troops are there so that Ukraine’s political leadership could make the relevant decisions regarding the fate of their citizens," he said.

(With agency inpust)

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