Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has visited troops near the town of Pokrovsk, where the fiercest front line battle between Russia and Ukraine is currently taking place.
Zelensky posted photos showing him meeting personnel at a command post in the Dobropillya sector, some 20 km (12 miles) north of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
Kyiv's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskiy, said on Monday that Ukraine was increasing pressure on the Dobropillya front to 'force the enemy to disperse its forces and make it impossible to concentrate their main efforts in the Pokrovsk area.'
Russia has been trying to seize Pokrovsk - a strategic frontline town and logistic hub - for over a year.
Although it has taken them months to approach the town's borders, Russian soldiers have now infiltrated it, and on Friday, Zelensky stated that Russia had amassed 170,000 troops on its outskirts.
Both Ukraine and Russia continue to issue claims and counterclaims on the situation in and around Pokrovsk.
Capturing Pokrovsk could give Moscow access to the rest of Donetsk, including the towns Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka - the so-called 'fortress belt'.
Gen Syrskiy acknowledged his troops were withstanding the 'pressure of a multi-thousand enemy grouping' but denied they were encircled. Meanwhile, Russian military bloggers claimed 90% of Pokrovsk was under Moscow's control.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces were operating with 'increasing comfort' within the town, which once had a population of 60,000 but has now been almost entirely emptied of civilians and largely destroyed.
Further east, Moscow's troops are also reportedly targeting the town of Myrnohrad, which would put Ukrainian soldiers at risk of encirclement.
Intense drone activity has cut off many logistics routes, making evacuations and the supply of ammunition and vehicles near impossible.
On Monday, Zelensky stated that Russia had had 'no success' in Pokrovsk in recent days but acknowledged that 'things were not easy' for Ukrainian forces in the area.
He added that a third of all front line clashes were happening in Pokrovsk, and a half of all glide bombs used by the Russians were launched at the town. Earlier last week, the Ukrainian president noted that Moscow's troops in the area were outnumbering Kyiv's eight to one.
Some Ukrainian commentators have criticized the government's efforts to continue to defend Pokrovsk, arguing that troops were being put at risk.
In a post accompanying the pictures of his visit to Dobropillya, Zelensky emphasized: 'This is our country, this is our East, and we will certainly do our utmost to keep it Ukrainian.'
Russia currently controls 81% of the Donetsk region and 99% of neighboring Luhansk, which collectively comprise the Donbas.
Despite its ambitions for the entirety of the area, Russian progress along the front line has been slow, and occupying heavily fortified towns in northern Donetsk could come at a substantial cost of manpower and resources.
Away from the front line, Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian cities, particularly targeting energy facilities as winter approaches. On Monday night, a significant drone attack hit the southern port of Odesa, damaging industrial facilities, causing fires, and impacting the local power supply. Reports indicate at least 15 civilians were killed and 44 injured in combined drone and missile attacks across the country over the weekend.
In retaliation, Ukraine continues to target Russian industrial sites, including a successful drone strike on a petrochemical plant in Bashkortostan.
