MOSCOW — Russian forces have taken control of two villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday, as fighting continued along the frontline. The claim could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm that the settlements had changed hands.
The Russian ministry said its forces had captured the two settlements as Moscow continues its slow advance across parts of Donetsk, where Russian troops have concentrated much of their ground offensive.
Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported the claimed gains, while Ukrainian forces continued to report fighting at several points along the frontline. Reuters could not independently establish the current status of the villages from battlefield evidence.
The claims come as Russian forces maintain pressure in eastern Ukraine after months of largely incremental advances. Moscow has sought to seize the remaining Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk region, including areas around key cities and logistics routes, while Kyiv has continued to reinforce defensive positions and launch localized counterattacks.
The battlefield remains difficult to assess independently because access to many frontline areas is restricted and both sides regularly report military gains that cannot immediately be corroborated.
Russia’s announcement also came amid a wider escalation in long-range attacks. Russian strikes killed two people and wounded dozens across Ukraine overnight Saturday and Sunday, according to Ukrainian authorities, while a Ukrainian drone attack killed three people in Russia, according to Russian officials.
The latest territorial claims are part of a pattern in which Russia has announced the capture of individual villages and settlements as its forces attempt to advance through Donetsk. Ukraine has at times disputed or not immediately addressed such claims, and independent battlefield assessments have shown that control can remain contested even after Moscow announces a settlement's capture.
For now, the Russian Defence Ministry’s claim that the two villages have been captured remains unverified by independent sources, while fighting continues across the eastern front.
