Russia's Defense Ministry on Tuesday released footage it said showed troops waving a Russian flag in the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

On Sunday, Russia's chief of general staff claimed during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that Russian troops had taken full control of Krasnoarmeysk, the Russian name for the city in the Donetsk region.

There were no immediate comments from Ukrainian officials on the video, which could not be independently verified.

However, during his visit to France, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday.

The city sits along the eastern front line in part of what has been dubbed the “fortress belt” of Donetsk.

The line of heavily fortified cities is crucial to Ukraine’s defense of the region, including Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Druzhkivka.

Zelenskyy also rejected Russia's earlier claim of capturing the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.

The Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv's troops “cleared out" almost all of Russian forces in Kupiansk.

AP video by Vasilisa Stepanenko