Videos shared on same day show Russian and Ukrainian soldiers just 50 metres apart in key frontline town – so what’s going on?
By Annoa Abekah-Mensah, OSINT producer
Battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces continue in Pokrovsk, a key town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, and a highly contested frontline position.
It’s not just the territory that’s contested – so is the narrative about who is advancing, or not. So what does the evidence tell us?
Signs Ukraine’s defences are holding
While Russian forces have made gains in Pokrovsk in recent days, video footage posted on 24 November, and geolocated by Sky News, shows Ukrainian forces patrolling the main road at the town’s western entrance.
This would appear to indicate that Ukraine’s ground units may still maintain a significant presence in and around the town.
Troops post videos 50 metres apart from town centre
However, it remains unclear who controls the centre of Pokrovsk, with both Ukrainian military sources and the Russian ministry of defence claiming dominance over the town’s central areas in recent days.
Video posted by the Russian defence ministry, also on 24 November, shows Russian forces walking southwards on Mira Avenue, a road in central Pokrovsk. Sky News has geolocated the footage to confirm where it was shot.
And we also geolocated a video posted by a Ukrainian ground regiment.
Again, it was posted on 24 November. And it appears to show Ukrainian soldiers walking on the exact same road, 50 metres from the location of the Russian video.
Contradictory claims show town’s significance
Despite the videos being shared on the same day – Monday 24 November – it is unclear when they were filmed.
Whatever the current situation is, and whoever is in control now, the contradictory claims about the centre of Pokrovsk demonstrate the town’s strategic significance in the ongoing battle for dominance in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
And the information war is taking on new significance, as both Russia and Ukraine jostle to claim they are in the strongest position during peace talks.
