Russia says it captures two villages in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv reports frontline battles

Aug 9 (Reuters) – Russian forces have taken control of the two villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, state-run RIA news agency reported on Sunday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

The ministry report on Telegram said Russian forces had seized Vasyutinske, a few kilometers east of the “fortress city” of Kramatorsk, and Toretsk, southwest of the city of Druzhkivka.

Ukrainian forces made no acknowledgement of the two settlements changing hands and Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports independently.

Russia is slowly advancing westward through Donetsk region, though there has been little significant change for months in the positions along the 1,200-km (775-mile) frontline.

The Ukrainian war blog DeepState, which uses open source reports in documenting the frontline positions of both sides, reported that Russian forces had made advances near Illinivka — outside the contested city of Kostiantynivka.

It also reported Russian advances near Chasiv Yar, to the west of the city of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in 2023 after long months of heavy fighting.

The Ukrainian military’s General Staff, in a late evening report, said Kyiv’s forces had repelled 24 attacks around Kostiantynivka, Illinivka and other centres.

Russian commanders said last month their forces had seized Kostiantynivka, but Ukrainian officials have disputed the claim.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his nightly video address on Sunday made no reference to changes in frontline positions, but singled out for praise Ukrainian forces fighting in specific areas, notably Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk.

(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ron Popeski)

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