Military Advance: Russia Takes Control of Two Towns in Eastern Ukraine

Russian forces have made a new advance on the ground by taking control of two towns in eastern Ukraine, according to Russian media reports.

RIA Novosti, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that Russian forces had taken control of the towns of Vasiutynski and Toretsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

In a report posted on Telegram, the ministry said Russian forces had captured Vasiutynski, located a few kilometers east of the “fortified city of Kramatorsk,” as well as Toretsk, southwest of the city of Druzhkivka.

Ukrainian forces have not confirmed that control of the two towns has changed hands, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the battlefield reports.

Russia is slowly advancing westward through the Donetsk region, despite there having been no major changes for months in positions along the 1,200-kilometer-long front line.

The Ukrainian war-monitoring website DeepState, which uses open-source reports to document the positions of both sides along the front, said Russian forces had made gains near Illinivka, outside the contested city of Kostiantynivka.

The website also reported that Russian forces had advanced near Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in 2023 after months of intense fighting.

In a report issued late in the evening, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Kyiv’s forces had repelled 24 attacks around Kostiantynivka, Illinivka and other areas.

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

In his nightly video address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not refer to any changes in positions along the front. However, he praised Ukrainian forces fighting in several areas, particularly Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk.