Russian forces have taken control of the villages of Spirne and Novooleksandrivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Russian defense ministry announced on Sunday. In a brief statement on the Telegram messaging app, the ministry stated that its forces had also improved their positions along the frontline around these villages.
Spirne is situated in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, near the border with Ukraine’s Luhansk region, while Novooleksandrivka is located approximately 130 km (80 miles) west of Spirne.
Ukraine’s General Staff, in its daily update on the battlefield situation, confirmed that “heavy fighting” was occurring in the vicinity of these villages but did not report any losses.
Donetsk is one of four regions in Ukraine’s east and south that Russia claimed to have annexed in late 2022, a move condemned as illegal by most countries at the U.N. General Assembly. Despite these claims, Russia does not fully control any of the four regions.
Melissa Enoch
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