Russia claims full-front advance in Ukraine as battle for Myrnohrad intensifies
Russian commanders say their forces are pushing forward along almost the entire front line in Ukraine, with the mining town of Myrnohrad in Donetsk region singled out as a key target. Moscow claims its troops have surrounded Ukrainian units there and are fighting street to street after taking most of nearby Pokrovsk.
Kyiv disputes those statements, saying its forces still hold parts of Pokrovsk and are resisting Russian attempts to close a full encirclement of Myrnohrad from several directions. Independent battlefield maps show Russian gains around both towns in recent days but stop short of confirming the sweeping picture painted by Moscow.
The clash comes as winter conditions harden front-line trenches and complicate logistics. It also coincides with fresh diplomatic maneuvering over possible peace terms that would involve contested territory in eastern Ukraine, adding a political layer to every kilometer of ground gained or lost.
This piece looks at what Russia’s “full-front” claim actually means on the ground, why Myrnohrad matters, how Ukraine is responding, and what the fighting around these towns could signal for the next phase of the war.
The story turns on whether Russia can turn its claimed full-front advance around Myrnohrad into a durable strategic breakthrough rather than another grinding, high-cost push.
Key Points
Russia’s top general says the army is advancing along almost the entire front in Ukraine and has been ordered to defeat Ukrainian forces in Myrnohrad.
Moscow claims to control most of Pokrovsk and around a third of Myrnohrad’s buildings, and says Ukrainian troops there are encircled; Kyiv insists its forces are still fighting inside both towns.
Independent mapping indicates Russian gains around Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in recent days, tightening pressure on Ukrainian supply routes in Donetsk region.
Russia now controls just under a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and large parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and is trying to push that line further west.
The push around Myrnohrad is part of a broader effort to threaten Kostiantynivka and other remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the east as talks over potential peace frameworks quietly intensify.
For civilians in and around Myrnohrad, once a relative refuge for people fleeing other front-line cities, the new Russian advance risks turning a shelter into another battlefield.
Background
Myrnohrad is a coal-mining town in Donetsk region that had around 46,000 residents before the full-scale invasion. For much of the war it sat behind Ukraine’s front line and became a hub for people displaced from other hard-hit areas like Avdiivka, Bakhmut and Mariupol.
Over time, however, the front crept closer. Russian missile strikes hit the town, damaging residential buildings and injuring civilians. As Russian advances east of Donetsk accelerated through 2024 and 2025, Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad emerged as a twin defensive cluster anchoring Ukrainian positions and key roads further west.
Pokrovsk is a logistics node tied into rail and road links supporting Ukrainian forces defending a wider belt of territory that includes Kostiantynivka and the approaches to Kramatorsk. Analysts have long warned that if Russia could break through here, it would complicate Ukraine’s ability to supply and rotate units across the eastern front.
Russia’s leadership has made clear it sees Donbas as a central war aim. Its forces now hold roughly 19 percent of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, and the Kremlin has repeatedly stated it wants full control of Donetsk and Luhansk.
In recent weeks, Russian troops have claimed most of Pokrovsk while Ukrainian officials insist some parts remain contested. From there, Russian units have pushed toward Myrnohrad, advancing from several directions and seeking to cut remaining Ukrainian supply corridors with artillery and drones.
Analysis
Political and Geopolitical Dimensions
When Russia’s top general appears on camera at a forward command post and declares that the army is advancing along the entire front, it is as much political as military. The claim signals momentum and inevitability at a moment when Moscow wants to show its population and foreign observers that it is steadily winning.
Targeting Myrnohrad specifically helps that narrative. The town is not large, but it sits within a cluster of remaining Ukrainian strongpoints in Donetsk. By presenting the fight as an encirclement ordered personally by the president, the Kremlin frames any eventual fall of Myrnohrad as proof that its attritional strategy is paying off.
For Ukraine and its partners, the messaging cuts the other way. Kyiv has every incentive to stress that its troops still hold ground and are inflicting heavy losses. Each defended block becomes an argument for continued Western support, especially as uncomfortable conversations about long-term security guarantees and possible peace frameworks circulate.
Other capitals are watching for signs of stability or collapse. If Russia secures Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and the roads linking them to Kostiantynivka, it strengthens its negotiating position. If Ukraine holds or manages a controlled fallback to stronger lines, it blunts Russia’s claims of momentum.
Economic and Market Impact
Global markets have not reacted sharply to the battle for Myrnohrad because the area is inland, far from Black Sea grain routes or major energy corridors. But the indirect effects matter. Donetsk’s mining and industrial base once powered a significant share of Ukraine’s economy. Every town captured or rendered unlivable increases the reconstruction bill and diminishes the country’s future industrial footprint.
The psychological impact is also real. Talk of “full-front advances” reinforces the sense of a long, grinding conflict rather than a war nearing settlement. That affects investor confidence, slows reconstruction planning, and complicates decisions in Western capitals about multi-year aid.
For Europe, renewed Russian momentum ensures that defence spending, ammunition production and sanctions enforcement remain high-priority issues.
Social and Cultural Fallout
Myrnohrad once sheltered families who fled Avdiivka, Bakhmut and other devastated cities. Now it risks becoming a front-line town itself. The prospect of a second or third displacement in winter is a heavy burden for residents who stayed because of jobs, elderly relatives or lack of resources to move again.
Basic services are under strain. Housing, utilities and public buildings have suffered repeated damage from missile and drone strikes. Schools move underground or online. Community groups that formed to support displaced people are forced to evacuate themselves.
As eastern Ukraine loses more towns to the war’s front line, the region’s industrial identity gives way to something more fragile: a landscape of constant risk, disrupted routines and shrinking safe spaces.
Technological and Security Implications
The fighting around Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad shows how technology has changed urban warfare. Drones saturate the sky, making it risky to move supplies or carry out evacuations. Artillery and guided bombs allow both sides to hit targets far beyond the immediate line of contact.
Yet the conflict remains a grinding industrial war at its core. Drones and precision weapons amplify the effects, but infantry assaults and heavy artillery still decide who holds the ground.
What Most Coverage Misses
Maps tend to dominate the conversation, but the manpower problem behind them receives less attention. Ukraine’s army is stretched after years of combat. Russia, by contrast, has shown a willingness to absorb high casualties to secure incremental advances. A claim of progress across the entire front may reflect that calculation rather than a sudden Ukrainian collapse.
Another quiet factor is depth. Even if Russia takes Myrnohrad, Ukraine has built secondary defensive lines farther west. Local breakthroughs do not automatically translate into rapid advances across the region.
Finally, the symbolic cost is significant. For displaced families who believed Myrnohrad was beyond the reach of frontline fighting, its potential fall sends a painful message. It shapes decisions about whether to return home, evacuate again, or abandon the region entirely.
Why This Matters
The stakes are highest for people in Myrnohrad, Pokrovsk and surrounding towns. If Russia consolidates control of this cluster, Ukraine’s remaining positions in western Donetsk may face supply shortages or forced withdrawals.
Short term, Moscow can use any victory here as evidence that its strategy is delivering results. Kyiv, meanwhile, must blunt or slow the advance to maintain domestic morale and international backing at a time when debates over long-term security guarantees and possible peace terms are intensifying.
Long term, control of this section of Donbas will influence any eventual settlement. A broader Russian corridor in the east strengthens Moscow’s bargaining position. A stabilised or reversed line keeps alive Ukraine’s aim of restoring more of its pre-war borders.
Events to watch include verified control of central districts in Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk, any sudden Ukrainian withdrawals or counterattacks, and shifts in diplomatic messaging from Kyiv, Moscow and Western capitals.
Real-World Impact
A nurse in Myrnohrad may find her hospital overwhelmed as shelling intensifies and evacuation routes narrow.
A train dispatcher in central Ukraine might see schedules disrupted as lines feeding Donetsk come under heavier threat, causing delays hundreds of miles away.
A small business owner in Warsaw who employs Ukrainian refugees may brace for another wave of displacement as headlines darken.
A farmer in southern Ukraine might hesitate to invest in next season’s crop, knowing that perceptions of Russian gains can affect credit and insurance far beyond the battlefield.
Road Ahead
The battle for Myrnohrad is more than a tactical fight. It is a test of whether Russia’s claim of a full-front advance reflects genuine momentum or another costly push in a grinding war.
On one side is Moscow’s narrative of encircled Ukrainian units and expanding control across Donbas. On the other is Kyiv’s assertion that its forces are still resisting, trading space for time and trying to slow the advance until reinforcements and supplies can stabilise the line.
The coming weeks will show which picture is closer to reality. Signals to watch include verified changes in control, stability or collapse of Ukrainian lines west of Pokrovsk, and shifts in diplomatic tone from all sides. Until then, Myrnohrad remains a flashpoint where military, political and human pressures collide.
