Key facts
- President Vladimir Putin claimed Russian forces have surrounded the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk and control 70% of it.
- Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, disputed these claims, stating Ukrainian defenders are resisting fiercely.
- Putin dismissed reports of a possible new mobilization as 'absolute nonsense'.
- Putin ordered preparations for large-scale strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
- Russia captured 270 square km of Ukraine’s Donetsk region in August.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on September 1 that Russian forces have surrounded the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk and control 70% of it. However, Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, asserted that Ukrainian defenders are resisting fiercely amid fighting in the city center. Putin also stated that Russian troops had captured 270 square km of Ukraine’s Donetsk region in August and that a large group of Ukrainian troops were surrounded.
During a press conference following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin dismissed reports of a possible new wave of mobilization in Russia as 'absolute nonsense,' calling them an 'information attack.' These remarks followed warnings from President Volodymyr Zelensky that the Kremlin could resort to another mobilization drive, with Zelensky recently stating Moscow intends to recruit around 300,000 personnel in 2026 and another 300,000 in 2027.
Putin also said he had instructed the Russian military to prepare 'massive strikes' against Ukraine's energy facilities, portraying them as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks against Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure. He claimed to have been briefed that a large number of Ukrainian drones attempted to penetrate air defenses around Moscow and St. Petersburg and strike three oil refineries.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's power grid and other civilian energy infrastructure since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, with attacks intensifying during the colder months. The Russian Defense Ministry has also recently threatened further large-scale attacks against Ukraine's energy sector, framing them as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russia's fuel and energy infrastructure.