MOSCOW: Russian forces on Saturday captured the Kirove settlement, known in Ukraine as Verezamske, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Donetsk region is one of four Ukrainian territories that Russia claims to have annexed, despite not fully controlling any of these areas. Kyiv, along with Western allies, has denounced these annexations as illegal and has committed to reversing Russian advances through military means.
Russian forces have reported incremental territorial gains in Donetsk, a region that remains a focal point in the ongoing conflict. This announcement comes as Ukrainian troops have been engaged in a surprise cross-border operation in Russia’s Kursk region since August 6. Ukrainian forces reportedly targeted settlements in Kursk, including Korenevo and Malaya Loknya, in their attempt to advance.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces successfully repelled these Ukrainian attacks. Russian officials have downplayed the significance of Ukraine’s operations in Kursk, arguing that the Ukrainian offensive is unlikely to divert Russian resources from their eastern operations and may instead lead to the entrapment of Ukrainian troops in a strategically less important front.
