Russian forces are aiming to capture the cities of Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, and Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast by the end of April 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists on April 10.
"We recently examined new Russian military maps with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and General Staff Chief Andrii Hnatov. They want to capture Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, and Pokrovsk by the end of April. This is impossible, but they have repeatedly set such deadlines,” he said.
Zelenskyy added that he had recently met with British intelligence representatives who also assessed that Russia does not currently have the capability to occupy the three cities by that deadline.