MOSCOW: Russia on Monday claimed the capture of a village in the south of the eastern Donetsk region. The defence ministry said its troops "continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defence and liberated the settlement of Staromaiorskoye" (Staromaiorske in Ukrainian), located southwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.
Ukrainian troops retook the village, close to the southern Zaporizhzhia region, in July last year during its summer counter-offensive, which had limited success but enabled it to retake some territory in the south.
Staromaiorske is located on the southern front on the southwestern edge of the Donetsk region, where there is now fierce fighting following a successful ground assault in the Kharkiv region last month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told an economic forum last week that Russia has taken 47 Ukrainian towns and villages so far this year.
US President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Sunday that Russia's advance on the Kharkiv border region has "stalled out" after Washington partially lifted restrictions on using US-donated weapons to strike inside Russia.
Russia has shifted its focus to two strategic towns in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers fighting there said at the weekend.
"The fiercest fighting is taking place in this area: Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar. This is the direction they really want.
Meanwhile, four people were wounded Monday when a mine exploded in a Russian town close to the border with Ukraine, while Ukrainian shelling hurt another three, the regional governor said.
The people were wounded in the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region, which often comes under attack from the Ukrainian side.
The area is just a few kilometres from Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, where a Russian offensive last month aimed to create a "security zone" to prevent Ukrainian strikes.
"Four people -- three self-defence fighters and an employee of the Rossiya-24 TV station -- were blown up by a mine in the town of Shebekino," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on Telegram.
The journalist, a cameraman for the state-run TV channel, was in a serious condition and was undergoing surgery following shrapnel wounds to his abdomen and shoulder, Gladkov said.
Shebekino is often hit by shelling and earlier this month, six civilians were wounded in bombardment of the town of 40,000 people. — AFP
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