Russian forces have changed their tactics in advancing on Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. The Russian army is attempting to bypass the city from the west through small villages and forested areas, as well as disrupt Ukrainian logistical chains,

The Russian army is strengthening its positions in villages around the key eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk in an attempt to encircle it and lay siege to a vital transport hub linking embattled Donbas with the rest of Ukraine.

MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.