MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian forces have captured two more settlements in areas of heavy military activity in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s military noted fighting around both villages in eastern sectors of the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line, but did not acknowledge that either had fallen into Russian hands.
The Russian ministry identified the villages as Maksymivka, just north of the hilltop town of Vuhledar, captured by Russian forces last months after long months of fighting, and Antonivka, near the embattled town of Kurakhove, further north.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military said Kyiv’s forces had repelled two attacks near Maksymivka and a nearby village in the vicinity of Vuhledar in Donetsk region. Four clashes were still going on.
The general staff reported a “tense” situation around the city of Kurakhove, with 39 Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions. It listed Antonivka as one of several villages in the area where Moscow’s troops were trying to advance.
Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports from either side.
A Ukrainian officer, in a radio interview, said Russian forces were advancing in parts of the Kurakhove area, making the situation particularly difficult.
“There is a danger of encirclement,” Nazar Voitenko, press officer of the 33rd separate brigade, told U.S.-funded Radio Liberty.
“I cannot currently assess the issue of withdrawal, but the situation is indeed extremely challenging. Compared to the summer, it has changed quite rapidly.”
After failing in their initial attempt to move on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, Russian forces have focused on capturing the eastern Donbas region, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russian forces hold about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
In September, Moscow’s forces advanced at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data, despite Ukraine seizing a part of Russia’s southern Kursk region.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Ron Popeski and Marguerita Choy)
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