MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.

Ukraine has stopped production at its coking coal mine in Pokrovsk, which feeds the country's steel industry, because of the proximity of advancing Russian forces, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday.

The Russian army is strengthening its positions in villages around the key eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk in an attempt to encircle it and lay siege to a vital transport hub linking embattled Donbas with the rest of Ukraine.

Some media outlets and social networks are spreading information about the enemy’s presence in Pokrovsk. This information does not correspond to reality,” the military stated. The operational situation in the Pokrovsk area remains one of the most challenging on the front line.

Ukrainian forces conducted over 130 combat engagements in the last 24 hours on the fronts of the war with Russia, most of them occurring near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which is besieged by Russian forces,