Russia said today that it has established control over more two villages in eastern Ukraine, after yesterday it also announced that it had captured a village, France Press reported, BTA reported.
In its daily briefing, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian troops had established control over the village of Spirne, near the city of Luhansk, which is now under Moscow's control, and Novooleksandrivka, near Ocheretyne.
These two villages are located in different sectors of the front line, illustrating the scale of Russia's efforts to retake Donbas, the industrial eastern part of Ukraine where the fiercest fighting is taking place.
The Russian army said yesterday it had captured the small village of Shumi, near the mining town of Toretsk - one of its main lines of attack at the moment. Russian forces have been advancing since the failure of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive last summer and the fall of the town of Avdeevka in February. They face a weakened Ukrainian army, which lacks recruits due to slow mobilization, and is experiencing shortages of weapons and ammunition due to delays in the delivery of Western aid, notes AFP.
In early May, Russia also launched an offensive in the border region of Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, quickly capturing several towns before being halted by reinforcements sent by Kiev.