Russian military forces have reportedly taken control of two villages situated in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, according to the state-run RIA news agency, which cited the Russian Defence Ministry. The ministry stated via Telegram that its troops seized Vasyutinske, located a few kilometres east of the city of Kramatorsk, as well as Toretsk, which lies southwest of Druzhkivka.
Ukraine has not acknowledged that either of these settlements has changed hands. While Russia continues a slow westward push through the Donetsk region, the 1,930-kilometre frontline has seen little significant movement for several months.
Independent monitoring through the Ukrainian war blog DeepState, which tracks frontline positions using open-source data, reported that Russian forces have made progress near Illinivka, a location outside the contested city of Kostiantynivka. The blog also noted Russian advances in the vicinity of Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmutâa city that fell to Russian control in 2023 following a prolonged period of intense combat.
In a late evening update, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military reported that its forces successfully repelled 24 separate attacks around Kostiantynivka, Illinivka, and other nearby centres. Although Russian commanders claimed last month to have captured Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian officials have actively disputed that assertion.
In his nightly video address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not mention changes to the frontline positions. Instead, he dedicated his remarks to praising the efforts of Ukrainian troops currently engaged in fighting near Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka, and Kramatorsk.
