The Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday its forces captured two villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region amid US-led efforts to end the nearly three-year-old war.
In a statement posted on Telegram app, the ministry said the villages of Sredneye and Kleban-Byk in Donetsk were captured as a result of operations carried out by the Southern and Western groups of forces. The operation that involved aviation, drones, missile forces, and artillery, targeted a Ukrainian military-industrial complex facility, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign fighters across 143 areas, the ministry stated.
The 1,000km frontline along Donetsk region, which was illegally annexed by Russia in September 2022, has been the major sight of fighting since the start of the war. Three more villages in the region were captured by Russian forces on Friday, the defence ministry claimed on a Telegram post. Ukraine has not commented on Russian reports of capture of new villages in Donetsk. However, on Saturday, Ukrainian military said its forces recaptured Zeleny Gai village in Donetsk region. The village had been subjected to renewed Russian attacks, the statement reads.
The reported capture of villages in Donetsk came as US-brokered peace negotiations hit a deadlock despite weeks of efforts by Trump administration to end the war.
