Putin says Russia has taken control of 2 Ukrainian cities. Ukraine denies claims

BBC:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed without evidence that Russian forces have taken control of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk, both Ukrainian cities where intense fighting has been happening for weeks in the eastern part of the country.

Putin made the claims the night before his meeting with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow to discuss a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. The claims appear intended to influence that meeting, sending a message that Russia is advancing and has no need to compromise.

But Ukraine’s military denied Putin’s claims, and soldiers on the frontline told ABC they were false. Putin and Russia’s military have repeatedly falsely claimed to have captured Ukrainian cities prematurely.

Ukrainian forces “continue to hold back” Russia’s advances in Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces said in a Facebook post Monday.

Russia has been trying to seize Pokrovsk, an important defensive strongpoint for Ukraine, for more than a year and a half at enormous cost. In the past month, Russia has come close to capturing the city, which is devastated, but Ukrainian troops continue to hold areas, and it has not fully fallen, according to independent military analysts and Ukrainian troops on the ground.