Name: Russia claims capture of Pokrovsk ahead of Witkoff talks in Moscow | DW News
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Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that his forces have captured the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

He says the capture will resolve key tasks in his offensive.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented.

Now, footage released by Russia's Defense Ministry, which you are watching right now, claims to show troops taking control of Pokrovsk.

It lies in the eastern Donetsk region and has been heavily targeted by Russian troops.

Last week, Ukraine sent reinforcements, including special forces to protect the city.

Pokrovsk is strategically important as a road and a rail hub.

Meanwhile, shuttle diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine continues.

US Special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin later today.

Witkoff met the Russian leader earlier this year, but

this time he will bring the amended version of the original 28 point point peace plan.

Ukraine has now tentatively backed this version.

Ahead of Witkoff's trip to Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris to rally support from European allies.

Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, the Ukrainian president warned against giving Russia any reward for invading his country.

Their meeting follows talks in Miami between Ukraine and the United States, where negotiators Revised an earlier 28 point plan that many had criticized as too favorable to Russia.

President Macron has said that Moscow has shown no sign of ending its aggression, and

he stressed that only Ukraine can decide the fate of its own territory.

As I mentioned, in the coming days there will be discussions between the U.S.

delegation and the and the Russian delegation.

It is at the conclusion of these discussions that greater clarity will be achieved regarding Russia's willingness or unwillingness to move forward.

As for us, we will continue to support all peace efforts.

In the meantime, we will continue to support Ukraine's resistance efforts.

We will continue to sanction Russia because it's a matter of our coherence and our security.

We are joined by DW's former Moscow Bureau chief, Yuri Rashado, who joins us from Riga as DW is banned from reporting in Russia.

Also with us is DW correspondent Mario Mueller, who is joining us from Kyiv.

So, Yuri, you know we have Russia claiming to have captured the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.

What do you make of the timing of that claim with Witkoff being in Moscow?

And the timing may be directly linked to the visit of US Special Envoy Witkov in Moscow.

The Kremlin is obviously sending a clear message.

It wants to show who's winning on the battle field, even though the war is far from over.

But Officials in Moscow hope to convince Washington that concessions to Ukraine are pointless because Russia intends to achieve its goals militarily.

President Putin cannot claim victory yet, and he knows it.

Still, he needs success stories and an exit strategy.

That's why we are hearing talk of progress toward war aims, even if those aims have shifted over time to objectives.

Control over the Donbas region and the removal of President Zelensky from power.

Mariel, how valid are those claims from Russia to have captured Pokrovsk?

And if true, how much of a blow would that be for Ukraine?

Well, President Zelensky yesterday denied this and said, they're still fighting.

It's hard, of course, to independently, independently verify these claims by Russia.

But if you look at the map run by Deep State, a group of Ukrainian military experts, it does look like most of the city is now under Russian control, but

Pokrovsk was or is of symbolic importance for the Ukrainians.

It used to be a critical logistics hub, and

it also lies on crossroads to other important cities in the Donetsk region.

So the fear here from the Ukrainians is that it could open the way to the rest of the region.

Also, Ukraine has heavily invested in the city of Percroft.

They have sent in security special forces, as you've mentioned before.

And also as Yuri mentioned, the Russians will definitely sell this as a win to the Americans by saying, look, we are winning on the battlefield, but

the Ukrainians will in turn say, look, it took them one year of heavy fighting to take control of pocrots if they actually did that.

Let's take it now to those ongoing negotiations.

And, Yuri, I'd like to get the Russian perspective from you.

How realistic do you think it is that Vladimir Putin would accept any peace agreement that doesn't amount to a clear Russian victory?

Yeah, I think Putin isn't looking for a symbolic win.

He wants something practical, pragmatic, and

believe or not, there is a part of Trump's peace plan that might catch his attention.

At first glance, it sounds crazy using Russia's frozen money, mostly sitting in Europe, to rebuild Ukraine.

The country that goes to destruction, paying for the reconstruction.

First, nobody knows how much longer this war will drag on or how expensive it will get.

And second, the G7 already decided back in 2023 that Russia won't see that money again until Ukraine is compensated for Damage.

So either way, Putin's 300 billion is locked up.

$300 billion with a peace plan, though he might get at least part of it back.

And when you are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars, that's a pretty big incentive.

Mariel, as we've been mentioning, Macron warned Ukraine against giving Russia any reward for invading its country.

Is Witkoff viewed, viewed as a genuine broker for the Ukrainians from, from their perspective?

Well, there isn't a lot of trust left in the Americans from a Ukrainian point of view ever since Ukrainians saw that first draft of the US peace plan, which was basically a Russian wish list and that many here viewed as nothing short of a capitulation.

And then the leaked phone call between Trump's envoy, Witkoff and also the Putin's adviser of foreign affairs, Ushakov, in which Witkov basically coached Ushakov on how to win Trump over.

So yes, Ukrainians have doubts, of course, that the Americans have their best interest at heart in these negotiations.

But of course Zelensky and his team, they will play along with the Americans because they cannot afford to lose a strategic partner, to lose American weapons and intelligence.

We're going to play a piece now because EU defense ministers have ended their meeting in Brussels with a promise to continue the search for a way to support Ukraine financially.

Kiev's European allies have been largely excluded from US led talks around the peace deal proposed by the White House.

I'd like to have a quick listen and then get your reaction thereafter.

Perhaps the consequence of being sidelined out of US led peace talks for Ukraine.

Less than half of the 27 European Union senior defence ministers showed up for their meeting in Brussels, many sending junior representatives instead.

The EU backs Ukraine's demands not to have to give up land or shrink its army to the point it can't defend itself.

But it's clear the Europeans know their position is weakened.

I'm afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim, which is that Ukraine has to make concessions and obligations, whereas, you know, in order to have peace we shouldn't lose focus that it's actually Russia who has started this war.

DW's Terry Schultz pressed the Dutch minister about whether the US is listening to them at all.

Are they taking your concerns into account?

What I've seen over the last week is that there have been a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions, but

And at the points that European countries and the EU have brought up, have also been taken seriously by the United States, but

The most noticeable absentee minister, Belgium's Theo Franken.

His country is under pressure from other EU governments for refusing to release around 140 billion euros of Russian assets held in a financial institution in Brussels.

As EU funding options for Ukraine dwindle and as Russian shelling continues, one of the big concerns for EU countries is that they'll have to shoulder the financial burden of rebuilding the country without having had a say in the terms of any peace deal.

Nothing about the Europeans, without the Europeans.

And we, of course, are going to have a central role in the rebuilding of Ukraine as well.