MOSCOW: Russia's army said Wednesday it had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, the latest gains for its advancing troops.
Moscow's soldiers have claimed a series of territorial gains in the area over the course of 2024, pressing on even as Kyiv mounts its own cross-border offensive into Russian territory.
The defence ministry in Moscow said its troops had "liberated the settlements" of Gostre and Grigorivka in the Donetsk region, in a statement posted on Telegram.
Gostre is a small village located 30 kilometres west of Donetsk city, the capital of a region Moscow claims to have annexed.
Grigorivka lies close to the hilltop town of Chasiv Yar, another key Russian target.
Military correspondents have also reported that Ukraine faces a precarious situation in Vugledar, a former coal mining town further south in the Donetsk region where heavy fighting is underway.
"It is highly likely that Russian forces now threaten the town from three sides," Britain's defence intelligence unit said Wednesday.
The Institute for the Study of War said Tuesday that the possible "capture of Vugledar is unlikely to afford Russian forces any particular operational edge for further offensive operations".
Ukraine's General Staff did not respond to a request to comment on the situation in the town. The Ukrainian brigade that holds the town and the larger command unit fighting in the region both declined to comment.
Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin acknowledged Wednesday that Russian troops were trying to break through Ukraine's defences and enter Vugledar, a former coal mining town further south in the Donetsk region.
"Some Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are trying to break into the city, but Ukrainian soldiers are destroying these groups," the governor said.
"About 100 people remain in the town and refuse to leave. It is impossible to deliver humanitarian aid to them because the enemy is shooting at all roads," Filashkin added. Military experts have already reported that Ukraine faces a precarious situation in Vugledar.
"It is highly likely that Russian forces now threaten the town from three sides," Britain's defence intelligence unit said Wednesday. - AFP
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