On August 24, the Russian Defense Ministry said the country's military had taken control of two more settlements along a nearly 1,000-km front line in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. Previously, this agency had announced the control of 3 other villages in the area.
According to the published information, the two new villages are Kleban-Byk, located northwest of the town of Toretsk - which has been hit by attacks for many months, and Seredne, near the administrative border with the Kharkiv region. The previously declared provinces, Katerynivka and rusyn Yar, were near the city of Kostiantynivka.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has not confirmed the loss of these villages, but said it has regained control of Zelenyi Hai village, located near the Dnipropetrovsk region. Kiev insists the region continues to see new attacks from Russia.
The Military Intelligence Service of Ukraine (HUR) said it has coordinated with military units to block Russia's advance in Donetsk as well as attempts to penetrate the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Since the failure of efforts to advance toward the capital Kiev in the first weeks of the conflict in 2022, Russian forces have focused their campaign into the Donbass region of Donetsk and Lugansk, with the aim of strengthening control in eastern Ukraine.
