Pokrovsk is the latest in a string of grueling urban battles between Ukraine and Russia since the start of the war and bears hallmarks of the bloody fighting for Bakhmut and Avdiivka earlier. Moscow now occupies both cities, which were effectively reduced to rubble.

Here is how things stand on Wednesday, November 5: Russian and Ukrainian troops have fought battles in the ruins of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, with Ukraine’s military reporting fierce fighting under way in a part of the city that was key for Kyiv’s front-line logistics.

Video from Sterlitamak in the Bashkortostan region, which is around 1,000km (620 miles) away from the border with Ukraine, captured an explosion at a petrochemical plant. Regional governor Radiy Khabirov later said Sterlitamak was attacked by two drones and “debris fell in an industrial zone”.

The European Union on Tuesday praised Ukraine’s progress on reform to join the bloc despite concerns over its efforts to tackle corruption, and issued tough warnings to candidates Serbia and Georgia about democratic backsliding.

The country will introduce fixed-term military contracts to try to attract recruits and ease the strain on soldiers after years of fighting.

The EU has published its latest assessment of the candidate countries, including Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed it the "best assessment to date" for his country's chances of joining the bloc.

Ukraine has long needed an arsenal of interceptor drones to fight Russian Shaheds. It looks like it's finally ready to mass produce them.

Britain's Defence Ministry says about 1.14 million Russian military personnel have likely been killed or wounded since Moscow started its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said it hit an important fuel pipeline in the Moscow region that supplies the Russian army.

Oleksandr Syrskyi says special forces have been deployed but denies Russian reports Ukrainian troops are surrounded in Pokrovsk.

Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced into Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year. Zelensky said Pokrovsk remained under severe pressure, though Russian troops had made no gains in the past day. He said up to 300 Russian servicemen had infiltrated the city.