Russia announced today that it has captured two more villages in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, TASS reported.
"Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops have liberated the villages of Kleban-Bik and Srednee in (the Donetsk People's Republic)", the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
This news has not been independently confirmed. There has been no reaction from the Ukrainian side so far.
Kleban-Bik is located in the southern part of the Kramatorsk district - the northernmost in the Donetsk region. There is an important reservoir near the village.
Sredneye is also located in Kramatorsk Oblast, but in the Limansky City Municipality, in the northern part of this administrative unit.
Donetsk Oblast is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia announced as annexed back in 2022. Russian armed forces now control about 70% of Donetsk Oblast - a region that has become the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the war in Ukraine.
Russian armed forces have been advancing slowly in Donetsk Oblast, with the Defense Ministry regularly reporting captured villages there. However, they have never managed to establish control over larger towns such as Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka.
Late last month, Russia did announce that it had captured Chasov Yar. There is no confirmation from the Ukrainian side that the city has fallen.
However, Chasov Yar is not mentioned in the latest report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which reports, quoted by Ukrinform, about 143 battles yesterday.