Exclusive drone footage shows devastated Ukrainian town almost encircled by Russian forces

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Exclusive drone footage obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday shows a devastated Ukrainian town nearly encircled by Russian forces near the city that Moscow this week claimed to now control.

Barely a street appears to be untouched in Myrnohrad in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk. Some destruction is so fresh that smoke was still rising in the footage shot in the past few days.

“They are trying to simply erase the (town) from the face of the earth,” said Oleksii Hodzenko, press officer of the drone battalion of the 38th Marine Brigade, whose soldiers were still fighting inside Myrnohrad on Wednesday.

The town is almost encircled by Russian forces, according to DeepState, an open-source Ukrainian map widely used by the military and analysts.

Hodzenko said that while there was still a route out for Ukrainian troops, Russian efforts had made logistics in and out of the town difficult: “We (can only) very rarely carry out even a small rotation of personnel. People sit there for weeks.”

Ukraine’s eastern command on Wednesday said on Telegram it was channeling supplies to troops in Myrnohrad. Hodzenko said they were relying on ground-robot drones to carry food and water to remaining soldiers. He did not say how many were left in town, in keeping with military restrictions.

Myrnohrad had a population of about 46,000 before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. It has since suffered the same fate as dozens of other Ukrainian towns and villages in the east and south as they have nearly emptied of people.

Over more than a year, the assaults by Russian forces using glide bombs that weigh up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), as well as swarms of attack drones and artillery, have turned the town into an uninhabitable shell.

“When you sit at the command post and hear the exchanges between (Ukrainian) units, once every few minutes a radio comes in, ‘KAB (glide bomb) on Myrnohrad,’” Hodzenko said. “As of now, all our fighters can do, and all they do, is hold the city as best they can, exerting absolutely inhuman, titanic efforts.”

Kremlin presidential aide Yurii Ushakov said Wednesday that Russia’s progress on the battlefield had strengthened its negotiating position in talks with the United States on the U.S.-drafted plan aimed at ending the war.

“The progress and nature of the negotiations were, of course, influenced by the Russian army’s battlefield successes in recent weeks,” Ushakov told reporters. “These developments had a positive impact on the negotiations.”

On Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry claimed troops had taken control of nearby Pokrovsk, posting a video of Russian soldiers holding the Russian flag in the city’s center. The claim was rejected by Ukraine’s General Staff.

Col. Volodymyr Polevyi, head of communications for the 7th Corps Assault Brigade, which is stationed on that part of the front, told the AP on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces were still fighting in the northern part of city.

Hodzenko urged Western allies to continue supporting Ukraine.

“Despite some agreements or disagreements between the U.S., Russia, the European Union, NATO, we still need help, in particular military help,” Hodzenko said, and added: “In order for the West not to go to war with Russia after a certain time, the West must certainly help us in any possible way.”