Russia said on Monday its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.

The 7th Rapid Response Corps said that assault and special operations units blocked an effort to cut a supply route between Pokrovsk and nearby Rodynske..

Ukraine has reportedly sent its elite special-operations forces to Pokrovsk in a desperate attempt to stop Russia's invasion.

While the defending army continues a heated resistance in Pokrovsk, Russia’s drones keep disrupting vital supply lines.

Russia has deployed 170,000 troops to Donetsk to bolster resources in the battle for Pokrovsk, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.