Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces were tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub they have been trying to capture for over a year.
In a statement carried by the state TASS news agency, the ministry said its forces had cleared 35 buildings in Pokrovsk of Ukrainian troops.
It said Russian forces were also tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops near the Kharkiv region town of Kupiansk.
Reuters was unavailable to verify the battlefield reports.
Ukraine has denied that its troops are surrounded in either location.
