After Wednesday's latest attacks, Russian troops are just three kilometers from the outskirts of the key city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, CNN reports, citing data from Ukraine's Deep State mapping service.

The Russians also destroyed or captured well-fortified positions of Ukrainian armed forces near the city, the Ukrainian military official added.

"The enemy attacked our fortifications in the direction of Pokrovsk west of the village of Vozrozhdenye, south of Novotroitsk, and as a result of long fighting, two of our positions were destroyed and one was lost," said Nazar Voloshin, a representative of the Ukrainian Army.

Voloshin added that the fighting continues on the outskirts of the village of Shevchenkovo ​​in the Kharkiv region on the eastern front. Ukrainian military bloggers have admitted that this strategically important village has fallen into Russian hands, but this claim has not been confirmed by Ukrainian authorities.

The Deep State claims that Russian troops are now only three kilometers from the southern outskirts of Pokrovskoye.

For several months, perhaps the fiercest fighting on the entire eastern front has been going on near Pokrovsk, and Russia is rushing towards the city.

Pokrovsk is located approximately 18 kilometers from the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and is one of Moscow's strategic targets.

Although Pokrovsk is not a large city – it was home to around 60.000 people before the fighting, many of whom fled when the Russian special operation began – it is at the crossroads of key transport arteries and is linked to other important military centres.

Pokrovsk forms the basis of Ukraine's defense in the Kiev-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast. According to local authorities, up to 11.000 people currently remain in Pokrovsk.

The fall of Pokrovsk under the onslaught of Moscow troops will be the biggest defeat for Ukraine in recent months. Ukrainian armed forces continue to withdraw, and Russian troops intensify their attack on the eastern borders.