Russia said Thursday it captured another village in east Ukraine, closing in on the town of Kurakhove after months of steady advances.
Russia has captured new villages in east Ukraine regularly since this summer, as its offensive drags on.
The Russian defense ministry said its troops had taken the village of Voznesenka, north of Kurakhove — a town west of Donetsk city that had a population of around 20,000 before Moscow launched its 2022 offensive.
Russian troops now control territory to the north, east, and south of Kurakhove, which lies on the shores of a reservoir.
Earlier this week, flood fears arose as Ukraine said Russian attacks damaged a dam on the reservoir.
Ukraine, meanwhile, said Thursday that its forces “fully control” the north-eastern city of Kupiansk but there is “constant” fighting on its outskirts.
Ukrainian troops retook Kupiansk in September 2022, but the city has remained under fierce Russian attacks.
