Russia’s army said yesterday it had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, the latest gains for its advancing troops.
Moscow’s soldiers have claimed a series of territorial gains in the area over the course of 2024, pressing on even as Kyiv mounts its own cross-border offensive into Russian territory.
The defence ministry in Moscow said its troops had “liberated the settlements” of Gostre and Grigorivka in the Donetsk region, in a statement posted on Telegram.
Gostre is a small village located 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of Donetsk city, the capital of a region Moscow claims to have annexed. Grigorivka lies close to the hilltop town of Chasiv Yar, another key Russian target.
Military correspondents have also reported that Ukraine faces a precarious situation in Vugledar, a former coal mining town further south in the Donetsk region where heavy fighting is underway.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said yesterday that “forcing” Russia into peace would be a “fatal mistake,” rejecting comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the United Nations.
Zelensky said Tuesday that Russia can only be forced into a peace settlement and vowed not to negotiate on Moscow’s terms to end the conflict.
