Ukrainian soldiers on one of the fighting fronts in Donetsk, east of the country (Anatolia-Archive)
The Russian army announced on Saturday its control of a new village in an important sector of the front near the city of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense explained in a statement that the army took control of the village of Krasnoye - which Ukraine calls Ivanevsky - in Donetsk Province, and that it improved its tactical position on the front there.
The village is located between the destroyed city of Bakhmut - which Russia took control of in May 2023 - and the city of Chasiv Yar, which may become the next target for Russian forces.
If the Russian army is able to control Chasiv Yar, it may be able to intensify its attacks on Kramatorsk, a large city controlled by Ukraine and increasingly targeted by Russian bombing.
To the south, the Russian army announced last Thursday its control of the village of Toninki, located west of the town of Avdiivka, which it took control of last February.
Ukraine - which has been facing difficulties since the failure of its counterattack in the summer of 2023 - lacks soldiers and equipment, and is urging the West to speed up its provision of military aid that is stuck in the United States and delayed on the European side.
Ukraine and Russia again exchanged air attacks on Friday night, killing two people on the Russian side.
The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which has been partially deprived of electricity since strikes yesterday, was targeted again.
The governor of the Russian Belgorod province, which borders Ukraine, said that two civilians were killed and 7 others were injured as a result of a drone attack.
For its part, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that it shot down 31 of 34 drones launched by Russia. 4 people were injured in the city of Kharkiv, which had a population of 1.5 million people before the Russian war and is located near the Russian border.
For months, Washington has been unable to approve a new aid package for Kiev, as Republicans, supporters of former President Donald Trump, in the House of Representatives are obstructing the approval of the aid demanded by Democratic President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Europe was late in delivering aid.
Source: Agencies