Vladimir Putin has bragged about Russia‘s latest battlefield gains in Ukraine while celebrating the fall of another frontline town just hours before Donald Trump‘s envoys arrive in Moscow for the latest round of peace talks.
In a video released by the Kremlin, Putin praised commanders for what he claimed was the full capture of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, calling the advance an important step toward Moscow’s wider military goals.
Dressed in uniform at a command centre, he told his generals: ‘I want to thank you. This is an important direction. We all understand just how important. It will ensure solutions going forward to the tasks that we initially set at the beginning of the special military operation.’
Russian commanders informed him that troops were still carrying out ‘clean-up operations’ around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad, where he said 2,000 Ukrainian troops had been trapped.
They also told him Russian forces had taken the frontline town of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region as part of a push to create a security buffer.
Ukraine has not confirmed the loss of either Pokrovsk or Vovchansk, and neither claim could be independently verified.
Both positions have been under pressure for weeks, and the fall of Pokrovsk, if confirmed, would be Russia’s most significant territorial gain since the capture of Avdiivka in early 2024.
The Kremlin released Putin’s comments late on Monday even though the briefing took place the previous day.
Russian state television led morning coverage with footage of soldiers raising a flag in what appeared to be the city centre, a move widely viewed as timed to strengthen Moscow’s hand ahead of talks with Trump’s representatives.
Dressed in military attire on Monday, Vladimir Putin bragged about Russia’s latest battlefield win as Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, fell to his troops
Russian soldiers raise the country’s flag in Pokrovsk after the city fell to their control. Soldiers were seen in videos roaming about freely around the city
Russian analysts have already suggested that securing Pokrovsk gives Putin added leverage, as it shows progress in the Donetsk region at a moment when he is demanding control of all of Donbas.
Hours after the Kremlin announcement, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were preparing to meet Putin in Moscow.
A White House official confirmed both men are travelling for discussions aimed at exploring a possible settlement to end what Trump’s administration now calls a ‘bloodbath’ and ‘a proxy war.’
It will be their first meeting with Putin since the Alaska summit in August, which produced no breakthrough.
Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the meeting would take place on Tuesday afternoon but refused to outline Russia’s red lines, cautioning against megaphone diplomacy.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war quickly, yet leaked draft American proposals last month alarmed Kyiv and European capitals.
The earlier 28-point outline included provisions that Ukrainian and European officials believed were tilted toward Moscow’s demands, including limitations on Ukraine’s army, acceptance of Russia’s current territorial control, and new rules on NATO expansion.
European powers then produced their own counter-proposal, and Ukrainian and U.S. officials met in Geneva soon afterwards.
A screenshot from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows the destruction after intense fighting at Pokrovsk
A residential building in a blaze in the aftermath of a Russian strike in Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region on December 1
Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner and the president’s envoy Steve Witkoff are due to meet with Putin later today to talk about a possible end to the
Both sides said they had created an ‘updated and refined peace framework,’ though no details have been published. Putin later said that current discussions are not yet about a draft agreement but about proposals that ‘could be the basis for future agreements.’
Russia’s core demands remain unchanged – Moscow insists Ukraine must never join NATO. It wants recognition of its control over Crimea, Donbas, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
It also seeks limits on the size and capability of Ukraine’s military, and new protections for Russian speakers and Russian Orthodox believers.
Ukraine has said these terms amount to capitulation. Kyiv argues that giving up land would leave the country vulnerable to further Russian attacks and would break Ukraine’s constitution, which prohibits ceding territory without a nationwide referendum.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said: ‘Not a single sane person today would sign a document to give up territory. As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory.
‘He will not sign away territory. The constitution prohibits this. Nobody can do that unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people.’
Before the Moscow visit, Witkoff and Kushner held talks in Florida with Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s national security council.
President Volodymyr Zelensky later said: ‘We share the view that the war must be brought to a fair end.’ Ukrainian and American officials are expected to meet again after the Moscow talks, though no timeline has been announced.
Russia currently occupies more than 19 per cent of Ukraine, according to widely used military maps, and has advanced in 2025 at the fastest pace since the first year of the invasion.
The remains of an apartment building and vehicles in Kherson after Russian strikes. In the lead up to the latest round of peace talks, Putin has intensified attacks on Ukraine.
Putin and Trump in August this year. The latest round of talks come after the meeting between the leaders in the US failed to produce a deal
U.S. officials estimate more than 1.2 million soldiers from both sides have been killed or injured since Russia launched its full-scale assault in February 2022.
The issues between the two countries intensified eight years earlier, with fighting in eastern Ukraine following the ousting of a pro-Russian president in Kyiv and Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Putin told commanders on Monday that Russian troops are pressing forward ‘along the entire length of the frontline.’
General Valery Gerasimov, head of the Russian General Staff, said Moscow intends to capture the rest of the Donbas.
With Pokrovsk claimed and Vovchansk contested, Russian forces have been trying to exploit Ukrainian shortages in manpower and ammunition. Kyiv has been attempting to stabilise its lines while waiting for additional Western military aid.
Putin’s battlefield messaging on the eve of the Trump envoys’ visit appears designed to send a clear signal that Russia believes it holds the battlefield momentum.
