Russia said on Thursday its forces had taken control of Pobeda, a small village about five kilometers (three miles) west of Donetsk city in east Ukraine.
The capture, if confirmed, would mark another step westwards for Moscow, which last week took over Avdiivka after months of battle.
“On the Donetsk front, units of the ‘Southern’ group of troops liberated the village of Pobeda and improved their position along the front line,” the Russian defense ministry said.
Ukraine said in a briefing minutes later that it was “holding back enemy forces” in Pobeda.
“Russians are concentrating their main activity on the Donetsk region,” said Ukraine’s senior commander in the area, Oleksandr Tarnavsky.
After more than a year of deadlocked fighting, Moscow is back on the offensive in eastern Ukraine, throwing manpower and artillery at the front line in a bid to make gains.
Kyiv has meanwhile been suffering from a shortage of ammunition and hold-ups to much-needed Western aid amid political wrangling in the United States, its biggest ally.
