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Russians Conquer a Dozen Settlements in a Week – In Eastern Donetsk, Northern Kharkov and Southern Zaporozhie – Moscow Forces Encircle Key Ukrainian Stronghold Pokrovsk (VIDEOS)

July 18, 2025

From the northeast and from the southwest: two Russian pincer moves mean to encircle Pokrovsk.

The world has been focused on the 50-day ultimatum given by US President Donald J. Trump for Russia to settle the war in Ukraine and avoid harsher sanctions and secondary tariffs, but the war keeps going on – and in fact Russian territorial advances are shifting to a faster gear.

While the world witnesses the European powers rather confusedly try to sort out who will send what and who will pay for what to Ukraine, Russian forces took around a dozen settlements in a single week.

Watch: Russian Geranium strike on the territorial recruitment center in the Cherkasy region.

Drone and missile strikes continue, but while US envoy General Keith Kellog was in Kiev, no attacks took place there.

5 strikes targeted the territorial recruitment centers and other military facilities.

The Geranium drone attacks in Kiev were paused while US envoy Kellog was there.

Read: As Hundreds of ‘Geraniums’ Pound Kiev Nightly, US Secretary Rubio Alerts: A Few Patriot Systems and Missiles ‘Won’t Stop the Russian Drones, but Only Some Missiles’

The pression is ongoing all over the 740-mile-long frontline, and a cursory look reveals that a dozen new settlements were conquered by Russian forces since July 11.

In the all-important Eastern Donetsk region, we have Zelenaya Dolina, Karlo-Marksovo, Nikolaevka, Mayak, Petrovka, Voskresenka, Novokhatskoye and Popov Yar.

Watch: Russian Zapad (West) group conquering Zelenaya Dolina, Donetsk region.

Watch: Russian flags over the villages of Nikolaevka.

Watch: The Russian flag is hoisted over Petrovka in the Donetsk region.

Besides that, Sobolevka and Degtyarnoye in the northern Kharkov region, as well as Malinovka and Kamenskoye in the southern Zaporozhye region were also conquered.

Once again, that may come across like a meaningless list of Slavic names, but just by glancing at the territorial results of a week, we see that this is no stalemate, and even calling it ‘incremental advances’ seems inappropriate.

Russian Ministry of Defense says over 8,000 Ukrainian troops were killed during the week – further adding to Kiev regime’s main problem: lack of troops.

But the most eye-catching ongoing development is the approach and encirclement of key Donetsk stronghold of Pokrovsk.

Watch: the push toward Pokrovsk continues.

This is a key supply road and railway hub, connecting major Ukrainian military centers like Kostantinovka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk.

Pokrovsk allows Ukraine to move troops, equipment, and supplies across the Donbas.

The fortress-like stronghold is a linchpin in Ukraine’s eastern defense, and has withstood Russian military pressure for months. Its fate will shape the trajectory of the war in Donetsk.

As we’ve seen many times before, when encountered with formidable defense formations and fortifications, the Russians go around it, encircling it, conquering the supply roots, depleting the defense capabilities until the it becomes a much weaker target.

More often than not, the Ukrainian defenders will retreat under fire before the encirclement is complete.

Read more:

Moscow Forces Complete Conquest of Luhansk Region, One of the Cradles of the War, Fighting Since 2014 to Secede from Ukraine and Join Russia

The post Russians Conquer a Dozen Settlements in a Week – In Eastern Donetsk, Northern Kharkov and Southern Zaporozhie – Moscow Forces Encircle Key Ukrainian Stronghold Pokrovsk (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.