Russia’s army on Tuesday claimed to have captured another village in eastern Ukraine, a day after President Vladimir Putin said his troops had the upper hand across the entire frontline.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had “liberated” the village of Gannivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the resource-rich hub of Kurakhove, which Moscow is also on the brink of capturing.
Putin told Russia’s military leadership on Monday that the army had seized 189 settlements in Ukraine so far in 2024.
Moscow is pressing to gain full control of four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Both sides are seeking to strengthen their position on the battlefield ahead of US president-elect Donald Trump, who wants to end the conflict, coming to power in January.
