Screenshot from video showing Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk / Source: X
The war in Ukraine showed on Thursday (20.11.2025) new striking images: Russian soldiers appear in a video of the Ministry of Defense of Russia to walk freely on a deserted street in the southern part of Pokrovsk. Half-demolished buildings and empty neighborhoods reflect the extent of the devastation after more than a year of gradual siege.
Russia now claims to control Pokrovsk in Ukraine, which Russian media describe as the “gateway to Donetsk”.
Maps published by the Russian military show Ukrainian forces encircled in the neighboring city of Mirnokhrad. According to the Kremlin, the capture of Pokrovsk opens the way for an advance on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, further north.
Russian forces walking around Pokrovsk.
Note the heavy fog still present as well as very little auditable fighting in the city. pic.twitter.com/n8sIe3nZRu
— ayden (@squatsons) November 20, 2025
A city ravaged and abandoned
As Reuters confirms, the footage was shot in the southern district of Pokrovsk. In the video, Russian soldiers can be seen moving without resistance, while one of them pushes a stretcher between half-demolished buildings. No civilians can be seen, an indication of the mass displacement caused by the fighting.
Contrary to Moscow’s claims, Ukrainian operational maps label Pokrovsk a “grey zone”, not fully controlled by either side. As for Mirnokhrad, it is not completely surrounded according to the Ukrainian staff.
The Ukrainian military says it continues to reinforce logistics lines and that fighting “continues in various districts of Pokrovsk”. Operations to “exterminate the enemy” remain ongoing, he adds.