Russia Claims Gains In East Ukraine As War Anniversary Approaches

Russia claimed on Thursday its forces had advanced further in east Ukraine, putting Kyiv on the defensive days before the two-year anniversary of the war

Kyiv, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2024) Russia claimed on Thursday its forces had advanced further in east Ukraine, putting Kyiv on the defensive days before the two-year anniversary of the war.

Ukraine has faced intense pressure on its eastern front in recent months as it grapples with ammunition shortages and hold-ups to much-needed Western military aid.

The Russian defence ministry said Thursday it captured Pobeda, a small village about five kilometres (three miles) west of Donetsk city on the front line.

"On the Donetsk front, units of the 'Southern' group of troops liberated the village of Pobeda and improved their position along the front line," it said.

The capture, if confirmed, would mark another step westwards for Moscow, which last week seized the former Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka after months of battle.

Ukraine said in a briefing later Thursday that it was "holding back enemy forces" in Pobeda, but did not explicitly refute Moscow's claim.

"Russians are concentrating their main activity on the Donetsk region," Ukraine's senior commander in the area Oleksandr Tarnavsky said, without elaborating.

The capture of Avdiivka last week, weeks after the nearby town of Marinka fell to Russian forces in December, marked a turning point for Moscow after months of deadlocked fighting.

Russia has for months been ramping up arms production and driving massive human resources into its offensive, at what Kyiv says is an enormous human toll.