The Russian army seized three more villages across eastern Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow said Monday, the latest in its grinding advance.
Russia’s latest claimed advances came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was touring European allies to garner support for his depleted army and the country’s battered energy infrastructure.
Moscow said its troops had captured the settlements of Gai in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Platonivka in the Donetsk region, and Dvorichanske in the Kharkiv region.
AFP was unable to verify the claims.
Much of eastern Ukraine has been decimated since Russia launched its all-out offensive in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes and tens of thousands killed.
Videos published by the Russian defence ministry show recent frontline settlements it has captured destroyed by aerial attacks, with usually only a few, if any, inhabitants left.
The most intense fighting at the moment is for control of the key logistical hub Pokrovsk, where Ukraine has conceded that hundreds of Russian troops have entered the city.
Though it holds an advantage in manpower and weapons on the sprawling front, Russia’s territorial advances have been slow and costly as both sides are heavily entrenched.
Efforts by US President Donald Trump to force a peace deal have stalled as Moscow has rejected calls for a ceasefire and refused to drop hardline territorial demands.
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© Agence France-Presse
