Ministry: Russian troops push forward on Ukraine's eastern front, seize more territory

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that Russian forces are continuing their slow but steady advance along Ukraine’s eastern front, claiming to have captured two settlements in the Donetsk region and one in the northern region of Sumy.

The newly reported gains come as Moscow remains focused on capturing territory in the eastern Donbas—comprising Donetsk and Luhansk—following its failed attempt to take Kyiv early in the war, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

In recent months, Russian troops have also intensified operations in Sumy, particularly after asserting that they had driven Ukrainian forces out of Russia’s border region of Kursk. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had taken control of Stupochky, a village east of the embattled town of Kostiantynivka, as well as Otradne, a settlement further west along the 1,000-kilometre front line.

In addition, the ministry claimed to have seized Loknya, a village across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region. Ukraine’s military has not confirmed any of these reported losses. In its daily briefing, it listed Otradne as one of several settlements where Ukrainian defenders had repelled 18 Russian attacks. 

Stupochky was previously identified as being under Russian assault, but not reported as lost. Although Ukraine has acknowledged persistent Russian attempts to gain ground in Sumy, it has not admitted to the loss of any villages in the region. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s popular military blog, which tracks movements based on open-source intelligence, reported that Russian forces had "been able to take up positions" for the first time along a series of border villages. 

Russia's Defence Ministry also announced the capture of Radkivka, near the hard-hit northeastern city of Kupiansk, where pressure from Russian forces has persisted for months. The city’s mayor, Andrii Besedin, reported that the recent attacks killed two city workers.

"We are seeing awful losses among our people, our colleagues who give their lives so the city can go on living," Besedin said on national television. "Sadly, as of now, the city is 90% destroyed."

By Naila Huseynova