There are moments in long conflicts when maps and memories seem to stretch towards an unknown horizon, tracing paths that once felt fixed but now appear ever-shifting. For more than four years, the war in Ukraine has been just such a story, unfolding slowly yet relentlessly, like a river cutting through stone. Now, after more than a year of grinding assaults, Russian forces are drawing ever closer to capturing towns that have become symbols of steadfast resistance.

In the east, Pokrovsk is one such place. This city — a vital logistics hub in Donetsk Oblast — has been under near-constant pressure as Russian troops push forward with sustained ground offensives. Ukrainian forces have worked doggedly to hold the northern sectors and maintain key defensive positions, but recent shifts have brought Russian units ever closer to the city’s heart, intensifying what Kyiv describes as some of the most ferocious fighting yet.

To the southeast, Myrnohrad has similarly absorbed the strain of prolonged battle. Though Ukrainian defenders continue to resist, open-source battlefield analysis suggests that much of the urban area is now under Russian control, with only portions of its outskirts still contested. If these towns still stand, it is in large part because defenders have fought not just a battle of ground, but one of endurance.

Further south lies Huliaipole, another community that has borne witness to months of attritional warfare. Independent battlefield monitors and military personnel have reported that the majority of this once-bustling town is now under Russian control, pushing Ukrainian troops into smaller enclaves and eroding the space from which defenders can operate effectively.

The strategic significance of these towns extends beyond their streets. Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are not merely geographic coordinates on a map; they are logistical linchpins, communities that anchor supply lines and offer critical access points along the long eastern front. Capturing them would, analysts say, provide Moscow with new depth for staging operations and negotiating leverage in diplomatic channels, even as fierce resistance continues elsewhere.

Yet this is not a narrative of rapid conquest. Over the past year, Russian advances have often been measured in feet rather than miles, the result of intense attritional warfare that has taken a heavy toll on both sides. Some military analysts liken the pace and cost of these operations to battles from earlier eras, where gains were slow and every yard of ground was bitterly contested.

For Ukrainians on the ground, the approaching fronts are part of daily life: families sheltering in basements, civilians seeking ways to tend to routines in fractured landscapes, and soldiers holding positions without certainty of what tomorrow might bring. The human rhythm of war — its moments of waiting, watching, and wishing — persists alongside the movements of brigades and battalions.

Whether these towns will fully fall to Russian control in the coming weeks remains a subject of cautious debate among military experts. What is clear, however, is that the conflict’s long shadow continues to stretch across the vast contours of eastern Ukraine, shaping lives and landscapes alike, even as the world watches and waits.

AI IMAGE DISCLAIMER (ROTATED) Illustrations were produced with AI and serve as conceptual depictions.

SOURCE CHECK Based on the latest reporting, credible mainstream sources include:

Reuters — detailed battlefield developments and military context. ABC News — reporting on the prolonged battle near Pokrovsk. Al Jazeera — broader war reporting (background). PBS/Newshour — timeline of territorial shifts and context. National Interest — expert analysis of the offensive’s grind.