MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian troops advancing slowly on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine have captured two settlements in Donetsk region as well as one in Ukraine’s northern region of Sumy, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
Since their failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war, Russian forces have focused on capturing the Donbas in the east, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In recent months, Moscow has also tried to advance in Sumy region, particularly after Russia’s military said it had ousted Ukrainian troops from the Russian border region of Kursk.
A Russian Defence Ministry statement said its forces had captured the village of Stupochky in Donetsk region, east of Kostiantynivka, a town under recent Russian pressure.
It also said it had taken control of Otradne, a village further west along the 1,000-km front and announced the capture of Loknya, a village inside the Russian border in Sumy region.
The general staff of Ukraine’s military acknowledged no such losses, referring to Otradne as one of several towns where Ukrainian troops had halted 18 frontline Russian attacks. It referred to Stupochky earlier this week as part of an area under Russian attack.
For months, Ukraine has reported attempts by Russian forces to occupy areas of Sumy region, but has never acknowledged the capture of any of them.
Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.
Ukraine’s popular DeepState military blog, which uses open source reports, said Russian forces had for the first time “been able to take up positions” along a line of border villages.
Russia’s Defence Ministry on Friday announced the capture of Radkivka, a village outside the northeastern city of Kupiansk, which has been under pressure for months.
On Saturday, Kupiansk Mayor Andrii Besedin said the attacks were taking a toll, including two city workers killed on Friday.
“We are seeing awful losses among our people, our colleagues who give their lives so the city can go on living,” Besedin told national television. “Sadly, as of now, the city is 90% destroyed.”
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Ron Popeski and David Gregorio)
