Russia’s defence ministry on Wednesday said that its troops had captured the village of Novoielyzavetivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, near the logistics centre of Pokrovsk, the latest target in their steady advance westward.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military did not mention the village in a late evening report.
It, however, reported intensive Russian activity in the Pokrovsk sector, with Ukrainian forces repelling 39 attacks by Moscow’s forces and nine clashes continuing.
READ ALSO: Israeli Airstrike kills 10 Palestinians in West Bank
The popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState, which records military positions on the basis of open source materials, showed Novoielyzavetivka to be under Russian occupation.
It was gathered that Pokrovsk hosts the only colliery in Ukraine producing coking coal for the steel industry — closed down as Russian troops approach the city — and is seen as a main target for Moscow.
Russian forces have focused on capturing all of the Donbas, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, after initially failing to move on the capital Kyiv in the early weeks of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Their progress in recent months has been the fastest since the launch of the invasion.
Recall that on Monday, Russia’s military reported the capture of the village of Dvorichna, near the city of Kupiansk in northeastern Kharkiv, another area of intensified Russian activity.
However, the governor of Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, denied that Russian forces had seized the village and said fighting was continuing.
Moscow announced the capture of the town of Velyka Novosilka south of Pokrovsk last weekend.
Ukraine’s military has yet to acknowledge that the town is entirely under Russian control.
